Christmas in the Lost Ground
by Nanaki
Summary: Part One of the Altered State trilogy. Now complete! Set six years after the events of the series, this is the story of how, during one very special Christmas break, Kazuma and Kanami finally realized just how much they love each other.
1. Daydreams

**Christmas In The Lost Ground**

**Chapter 1: Daydreams**

By Nanaki

_"I was... I was dreaming. The person who was in my dream was very angry. He screamed the name of someone very important... destroyed things, and roared like never before. I was wondering... I couldn't help it... and even though I had no idea who was on his mind... I was just so jealous of the person anyway. I was wishing that the important person he was thinking of was me. I wish it was me!" _- Kanami Yuta, Age 12

* * *

Kazuma lay on his bed, unmoving, staring at the overhead light on the ceiling. It was a just a bit too bright to look at comfortably, so that it hurt his eyes a little, but it wasn't so bright that he felt the need to get up and turn it off. He'd been laying here for about two hours, trying to sort out his thoughts, which was more than a little unusual for him. He kept trying to think about other things, and there were plenty of other things that needed his attention, but his mind just wouldn't stop coming back to the phone call.

"Hey, this is Kazuma." He'd answered in the same bored monotone he'd used ever since he'd been stupid enough to give his cell phone number to someone other than Kanami. Fortunately, the reason he'd agreed to get the phone in the first place was on the other end.

"Kazu-kun! What's happening?"

"Oh, not much. It's pretty boring without you around." They both knew this was only true from Kazuma's point of view, since something relating to the Lost Ground was on the news on the mainland almost every night.

"Well, you won't have to worry about that for a little while after tonight." There was mischief in her voice.

"What?" Kazuma's voice wasn't bored anymore. "I thought you weren't coming home until Christmas Day, if they even let you."

"Turns out all my finals were on the first two days of the week, so I'm good to go."

"You could have called me before now, you know."

He could practically see her smirking on the other end. "Surprise."

"You know, you enjoy teasing me just a little bit too much." He'd said, not meaning it.

"Anyway, to get a flight on such short notice, I had to take the red eye." She could hear Kazuma's groan on the other end.

"So you're gonna make me get up early, huh?"

"Well, I could always ask Ryuho and Mimori to pick me up..." She knew what response that would get.

"Over my dead body." The feigned exhaustion in his voice disappeared.

"Then yes, you'll have to get up early. The flight arrives at Adjani Memorial at 5:45."

"Yeesh, that's REALLY early. It might be easier to just stay up." 'Not like I'll be able to sleep anyway, now that I know you're coming.' Was his unspoken reason. "Why aren't you asleep yet, then?"

"You know, it's college. Nobody around here goes to bed before midnight, at least." 'Not like I could sleep anyway, knowing I'll be seeing you tomorrow.' She admitted to herself. "Anyway, I'm on flight 707, Japan International Airlines. Oh, and I'm bringing a friend too, so get ready to limit Cougar's opportunities to hit on her."

He laughed. "Well sure, but I'd think any mainlander brave enough to come to the Lost Ground can take care of herself. I'd be just as worried about you."

"Oh please, Cougar knows you'd kill him if he tried anything." That line gave him more hope than anything else in the call. "I better get packing, anyway. Bye for..." She groaned. "Ugh. Ten hours. I may sleep most of tomorrow."

"S'okay. My schedule's wide open." This wasn't technically true, but for her, it would be.

"All right. G'night Kazu-kun." And she hung up.

Kazuma had just been lying on his bed since then, replaying the call in his head over and over again, completely overanalyzing it before he decided that it wasn't of any great significance. But by that point, his thoughts had been too focused on Kanami to go anywhere else. "I should have just told her before she left." He mumbled to himself, for at least the hundredth time.

In his most selfish moments, he wished that she HADN'T gone, but Ryuho had brokered a deal with the mainland to allow qualified students to attend their universities pretty much just for her sake, and he was covering all of her expenses that weren't paid for by her various scholarships straight out of his personal bank account. Kazuma knew he would have tried to put her through college himself if Ryuho hadn't; if anyone deserved a good education, it was her. It was just... he was afraid she wouldn't want to come home after four years on the mainland. There was no way in hell HE was ever going to the mainland. If it was possible, the mainland higher-ups hated him even more than Ryuho. If they ever allowed him to leave the Lost Ground, it would only be for an assassination attempt disguised as a diplomatic gesture.

Kazuma momentarily forced his mind to empty of all thought. He listened to the wind driving the blowing snow past his window, mixed in with the comforting whir of the space heater on the stand next to his bed. "What idiot couldn't figure out how to put central heating in this house?" Cougar was always complaining. Secretly though, Kazuma kind of liked it. The house he shared with Cougar was way out in the boonies, even by Lost Ground standards, partially hidden by a large rocky outcropping. This was an area of secret residences for "high priority targets", and even though Kazuma was one of the Lost Ground's great heroes, he had still been informed that if he wanted his own house, he needed "three people at least." Needless to say, he and Cougar hadn't bothered to tell the landlords when Kanami moved out.

Finally satisfied that his train of thought had gone off in a nice, boring direction, Kazuma turned off the heater, got up, and turned out the light. He headed downstairs to the living room, where Cougar was watching some kind of game show on an absurdly large TV, half asleep in the middle of the three recliners. Kazuma sank down into the left recliner, not saying a word.

Cougar lazily lifted the remote and turned the volume down. "So how's Kanami?"

"Who said anything about Kanami?" Kazuma said crankily, not taking his eyes off the TV.

"Oh please, little brother. You get a two minute phone call and then stay in your room brooding for two hours. Who else is it gonna be?" Cougar's expression looked even more smug than usual, and that was saying something. Kazuma tried hard to come up with a good retort, and came up with nothing. "Why don't you just DECIDE already, instead of constantly torturing yourself?" Cougar turned his attention back to the TV.

"I HAVE decided." Kazuma said in a steely voice, earning him a rare look of surprise from Cougar.

"Really? Well, that's some good news." Cougar reached up to pull his sunglasses down from his forehead, before realizing that they weren't there. "It's about damn time."

"Actually, I decided back in September." Kazuma admitted.

"Oh, so that's why you've been so mopey since she left!" Cougar nodded in understanding. "I just have one question then. Why the hell didn't you TELL HER?!"

"Look, it's not as easy as you make it sound!" Kazuma turned to meet Cougar's glare. The glare didn't waver. "Well, I guess I got scared."

"Finally, some honesty." Cougar nodded, his smile returning. "Just be honest with her, and everything'll work out fine." Now, he caught a glimpse of the clock, and raised his eyebrows. "It's after 9:30 already. What say we skip the argument about whose turn it is to cook, and just head straight for McDonald's?"

"Sounds fine with me." Kazuma shrugged, and went to get his coat. Ever since Kanami left, there'd been an argument every night about who had to make dinner, that usually ended with both of them giving up and heading into the city to get something to eat. The drive from their house to the city took about fifteen minutes, then another five to actually pull up in the parking lot of any of the fast food joints sandwiched between the residential and industrial areas. Since McDonald's was the only one open past ten, that was where they usually ended up. Of course, the drive to the city only took about three minutes if Cougar used his alter, but since Cougar had ended up completely destroying Kazuma's first car that way, that wasn't an option anymore.

"Yeesh, it's cold out." Cougar complained as he opened the door, and the freezing wind instantly numbed his face. Kazuma remained quiet, and Cougar turned to him, surprised. "Aw man, are you gonna be brooding all night?"

Kazuma smiled at that. "Probably." He nodded as he got in the passenger side of their van. He wasn't thinking about the phone call though, he was thinking about that fateful last night...

.

(Nanaki's note: Hey everyone! I just wanted to go over one important detail at the beginning. Namely, Kazuma and Kanami's ages, respectively. I wanted to minimize the age difference as much as possible, while still keeping it believable. Plus, when I started writing this story, I was offline, and had no way of looking up the what the characters' "official" ages were. So, I figured that at the end of the series, Kanami was twelve, and Kazuma had just turned seventeen. Thus, in this story, Kanami is eighteen, and Kazuma just turned twenty three. I also figured that Cougar was twenty one at the end of the series, so he's twenty seven here. As it turns out, I was pretty much on the money with Kazuma and Cougar, but I was off a bit on Kanami. Oh well, think of this story as AU if you have to, but I'm not changing it. Enjoy.)


	2. The Last Night

**Christmas In The Lost Ground**

**Chapter 2: The Last Night**

By Nanaki

Kazuma was already up when Cougar stumbled downstairs at 4:30 the next morning. He was so absorbed in his thoughts, though, that he barely managed to notice that the oven timer was going off, never mind that there was someone else in the room. "What the hell? Are you BAKING?" Cougar was wide eyed.

"What's it look like?" A smirk appeared on Kazuma's face as Cougar came over to survey what was already cooling on the counter.

"What IS all this? Cookies... brownies... FUDGE?! Since when do you know how to make this kind of stuff?"

"Kanami taught me last Christmas." The smile remained on Kazuma's face as he began using a spatula to set the chocolate chip cookies that just came out of the oven on the foil next to the sugar cookies they were going to frost later.

"And I was just gonna have some Pop Tarts..." Cougar shrugged as he popped a piece of fudge into his mouth.

"Hey, wait until later!" Kazuma tried to swat Cougar's hand away from a second piece, unsuccessfully.

"Oh, like you haven't eaten a pound of the stuff already." Cougar said, spying several empty spots amid the goodies laid out on the foil.

"That's different, I'm the one who made it!" Kazuma put the empty baking sheet in the sink, then turned the oven off.

"How early did you have to get up to make all this, anyway?" Now Cougar was tossing a still very hot chocolate chip cookie back and forth in his hands, trying to cool it off a little.

"Well, I was asleep from about midnight to two, but I just couldn't get back to sleep after that." He shrugged.

"Man will I be glad when this whole tormenting yourself thing is over." Cougar shook his head. "Anyway, we need to get heading out to the airport pretty soon."

"The flight will probably be delayed, with this weather." Kazuma gestured to the kitchen window, where the light filtering through the window was illuminating the edges of a proper blizzard.

"Yeah, and if the road's covered with snow, it'll take us longer to get there, so it evens out." Cougar went to the closet, and pulled a dark grey turtleneck on over his T-shirt, followed by a very heavy, dark blue Patagonia coat.

"I know, I know." Kazuma headed up to his room, rummaging through his extremely unorganized closet for something heavier than the sweat pants and T-shirt he was already wearing. He pulled on a pair of snow pants, remembering that the airport employees didn't keep their heaters turned up very high, then a maroon sweater that Kanami had knitted for him a few years back. It itched like hell around the neck, but it was warm. Then he got his own heavy Patagonia coat out of the closet downstairs, this one a pure white.

"You look like a white chocolate covered cherry." Cougar observed, pulling his hood on.

Kazuma zipped up, hiding the dark red sweater. "Better?"

"Now you look like you're heading out on a mission." Cougar shrugged. "Oh well, clothes were never your specialty anyway."

Normally, Kazuma would have been ready with a withering retort, but now he just shrugged as he pulled his own hood on. "Let's get going."

"Boy, you really CAN'T think about anything else, can you?" Cougar asked, squinting his eyes against the driving snow as he opened the van door.

"How about this?" Kazuma jumped in, trying to minimize the amount of snow that would get inside. "You don't harass me on the way to the airport, and I'll do my best to carry on an actual conversation when we get there. Sound good?"

"Wow, an actual conversation with the legendary Kazuma? Who could ask for more? I promise, my lips are sealed!" Cougar's sarcastic grin was huge as he backed out of the driveway.

"Oh, shut up." Kazuma snapped, but he couldn't help a slight smile from creeping onto his face anyway. The smile was gone in a minute though. As Kazuma blankly watched the snowflakes whoosh by the van, his mind returned again to Kanami's last night in the Lost Ground. The night that he should have told her everything, and everything had gone wrong instead...

.

It was a beautifully sunny September 16th. It had been getting fairly cool at night lately, but it was still nice and warm during the day. A little too warm really, considering that Kazuma's house didn't have air conditioning. Schools in the Lost Ground were still on the traditional Japanese schedule, meaning their year ended in the spring, while all public schools in Japan, including the universities, had recently switched over to a schedule that matched the one in the United States. As a result, Kanami had had an extremely long summer vacation, and Kazuma couldn't quite believe it was finally over.

He was also nervous as hell, considering what he was planning on telling her tonight. Plus, all things considered, it was an extremely BAD time to tell her as well. But he just didn't think he could keep quiet any longer.

He'd slowly come to realize, no, to admit to himself that he'd loved her as more than a kid sister since she was about fifteen, when she became more mature than he was. No, scratch that, she'd ALWAYS been more mature than him, even when he'd first met her, and she'd only been eight then. But somewhere around fifteen, she'd gained a certain wisdom that had nothing to do with her alter power; a feeling that she knew him better than he knew himself. She could have, easily, of course, but she never used her alter on him. Not beyond simply confirming that he was still alive, anyway.

That, plus puberty had hit her like a ton of bricks. There always seemed to be guys she'd gone to high school with, and some she hadn't, calling the house these days. The fact wasn't lost on Kazuma that she always seemed to be busy with something else when they called, though he hadn't let himself get his hopes up about what that might signify.

There was reason to hope though. He'd always remembered the last thing she'd said to him, or more accurately, thought at him, before he went to fight the forces from the mainland with Ryuho. "I love you, Kazu-kun!" Though he was far from the most perceptive guy in the world, he'd known, even back then, that she didn't mean just as someone who always looked out for her.

Then there'd been that incident that summer when she was sixteen. It was one of those rare times when Cougar was out on assignment and Kazuma wasn't, so they'd spent the whole day goofing around in the city, just the two of them. But once they got back to the house, it had simply been too hot to sleep, so they'd sat down to watch some nice, boring TV in the hope that they'd drift off. The only thing was, for some reason they'd ended up collapsing on the couch instead of sitting in the recliners. 'Why DO we have a giant couch AND three recliners?' He'd wondered for the millionth time. But, it didn't matter much. With all the windows open, it finally started getting comfortable around one in the morning. Kanami was slowly nodding off on his left, and he felt himself drifting toward sleep too.

It was good timing. They'd ended up watching a romantic comedy kind of movie that got less comedic and more romantic as it went on. Throughout the movie, Kazuma had been becoming more and more aware that Kanami was only wearing the tank top and extremely short shorts that she usually slept in, and he was only in shorts and a T-shirt himself. Finally, Kanami slouched over, then slid along the couch until she came to a rest on her back, kind of using his left kidney as a pillow. A soft snore was escaping her lips. Kazuma turned to say something, but he instantly forgot what it was as he realized he had a fantastic view of her cleavage. Also, her lips were only about two feet away from his, and this sudden proximity seemed to be exerting a magnetic pull on Kazuma's own lips. Kanami wasn't big on makeup, but she seemed to be wearing some sort of lip gloss that made them shinier than usual. Shinier, and very kissable. Very, very...

'She's too young!' He forced the thought into his brain as he slowly brought his head back up. 'She's too young. TOO young.' It was hard to make himself believe it, since he was only twenty one at the time, but it seemed to work. He turned it into little mantra that he kept repeating to himself as he turned back to the TV. 'Too young... too young...' After a few minutes, he decided that he'd better get her up to bed and away from him before the next commercial break rolled around and he had more time to contemplate how beautiful she was. "Hey Kanami." He nudged her with his elbow, ever so gently. She let out a soft groan, and her eyes fluttered open, though not very wide. "Maybe you should head on up to bed."

She looked puzzled, and Kazuma wasn't sure if she was fully awake or not. "Kazu-kun..." She whispered softly, and rather affectionately, Kazuma realized a second too late. Kanami reached up with her right hand, caught him by the back of the neck, pulled his head down to hers, and kissed him very deeply. It was her first kiss, he was sure, and though he would never admit it to anyone but her, it was his too. There was a tingling sensation in his spine, and a very warm feeling in his gut. It took him several seconds to pry himself away, and he gasped as he sat back up.

"Kanami... no." He said very softly.

"Wha's wrong?" She asked, eyes closed, sounding like she was still partly asleep. Maybe she was, he hoped. Maybe she wouldn't remember this in the morning.

"It's... you're too young." He mumbled, barely coherent, barely restraining his desire to lean over and continue kissing her.

Now she sat up straight, obviously more aware of things than he'd hoped she was, and looked him in the eyes, her head barely a foot away from his. "Are you sure, Mr. Won't Be Twenty Two Until December?"

'No...' His brain had whined pitifully, while he forced himself to say, "Yes, I'm sorry."

Kanami cocked her head, staring at him for a second like she couldn't quite believe it, then she got up off the couch and stretched. Stretched rather sinuously, Kazuma noticed, making sure that her tank top lifted up and exposed her lower back, since her hair was thrown over her shoulder. "Well Kazu-kun, I think you're right. It's time for bed." She headed for the stairs, then stopped, and turned back toward him for a second. She didn't say anything, but the mischevious gleam in her eyes made it so that she didn't have to. 'Wanna come with me?' Was the unspoken invitation.

'Yes. GOD yes.' Kazuma's brain responded. "G'night Kanami." He waved as he forced himself to turn back to the TV. He began to flip through the channels, hoping to find some extremely boring news, maybe a report on high gas prices, that would help him calm down. He sensed her standing at the bottom of the stairs for a few more seconds before she finally headed up to bed. Kazuma knew he would be wide awake down here for at least another hour before he started to feel sleepy again. He definitely wasn't heading upstairs until he was sure she was asleep, and he hoped she didn't try anything during the night. If she just walked into his room and climbed into bed with him, he wasn't sure he would have the willpower to kick her out.

Luckily, or unluckily, depending on his mood, since that night fourteen months ago, she hadn't tried anything. She had pretty much granted his unspoken wish of pretending it had never happened. Although, whenever they found themselves in the living room late at night with nothing to do but watch TV, they made sure to sit in the recliners.

The incident gave Kazuma hope, but also doubt. Hope, because she'd obviously had some rather strong feelings for him that night, and it was unlikely that they'd just vanished completely. Doubt, because she would have felt rejected by him, and rightly so. It was possible, much as he hated to admit it, that she had moved on. She had ended up being one of the most popular people in her high school during her senior year, and seemed to know just about everyone in her age group on the Lost Ground personally. Kazuma might have shot himself in the foot with his attempt at being responsible.

Either way though, tonight was Kanami's eighteenth birthday, as well as her last night at home, and Kazuma was going to tell her how he felt. Getting some time alone with her was going to be the hard part, though. Just under 17,000 or so of her high school friends had planned a huge bash down at the beach, and from the sound of it, it was a party that would be going on most of the night. So, Kazuma had come up with a plan so blissfully, stupidly simple, it just HAD to work.

"Hey Kanami, what say we head down to the party spot a little early, have a little quiet time before they keep you up all night?" He'd shrugged, like he didn't really care one way or the other.

She fixed him with penetrating stare that made him momentarily wonder if she'd been using her alter to peer into his head. Then, she smiled and shrugged, too. "Sounds good. I finished packing this morning, so I'm just killing time until the party starts."

They climbed into the van, and headed south on a road that quickly went from pavement to gravel to pure dirt. Kanami was boredly fiddling with the radio, not finding anything she liked, since Kazuma and Cougar were two of the last people in the world who didn't have satellite radio. Kazuma was glad for the distraction of driving, since it gave him some time to make some last minute adjustments to what he planned on saying. "You're awfully quiet today, Kazu-kun." Kanami observed.

"Yeah, I'll admit I've been feeling a little blue since I know you're leaving tomorrow." Kazuma sighed. With that, he made one last adjustment to his prepared remarks by ditching them completely, and deciding to just say whatever popped into his head when the moment came.

"It's the end of an era, all right." She nodded. "Hey, I'm more than a little nervous, too. This will be the first time I've been outside the Lost Ground. Ever."

Forget waiting until they actually got to the beach, he decided. It was only a couple miles now anyway. "You know I'm really glad that you'll be able to go to college, and REALLY glad that Ryuho's paying for it..." This earned a small chuckle from both of them. "But that doesn't change the fact that I'm really gonna miss you. You've been the closest thing to family I've had for ten years now." Oh, that last line wouldn't help his cause any. It was true, which was why he said it, but it would put things in the wrong context.

"You think you're gonna be lonely?" She raised an eyebrow. "I'll admit that I'm scared to be going somewhere, anywhere, without you. If it wasn't for you, I probably would've died a long time ago. Besides," she went on before he could say anything, "no matter how many great guys I meet at the university, they won't be you."

"Wow." He said simply. "That may be the greatest compliment anyone's ever paid me." There was a kind of contented silence in the car for about another mile, then Kazuma decided to forge ahead again as he turned onto the cliff road that led down to the beach itself. "I know we joke around a lot, and we seem to enjoy giving each other a hard time, but I want to be serious for a minute here."

"You've been serious all day." She observed, in a surprisingly serious voice herself, or so he thought.

"Yeah, true." He nodded. "Well, I want to be serious for a least one more minute." 'Get on with it!' The responsible part of his brain seemed to be screaming at him. 'Stalling isn't going to make this any easier!' "Anyway," he began, and his voice came incredibly close to cracking, something it hadn't done since he was about fourteen. Kanami was looking at him with an expression that was hard to decipher now. "Anyway, if there's one thing that I want you to remember when you're away, it's that I... Oh shit."

"That... doesn't strike me as a very memorable line, Kazu-kun." Kanami frowned.

Kazuma, head hung in defeat, barely managing to keep his eyes on the road, pointed with his right hand at where about thirty teenagers were already gathered close to the surf. A few of them were racing their cars through the shallows, while most of the rest were alternating between playing volleyball and doing shots. A few were doing both at the same time. "So much for the quiet time." Kazuma groaned.

Kanami put a hand on his shoulder, and Kazuma could have sworn he saw a pleading look in her eyes. "We still have about thirty seconds until we get down to the sand."

A smile appeared on Kazuma's face. "Not enough time, for what I want to say." At least, not enough time for that AND the makeout session he hoped would follow. Plus, how the hell was he going to do that while he was driving? He hadn't planned this out very well after all. "There'll be time at the end of the night, when most of these idiots are passed out."

"Yeah, I suppose so..."

Once Kazuma resigned himself to the fact that he wouldn't be telling her for a while yet, it WAS a pretty good party. By sunset, pretty much her entire senior class and most of the juniors had shown up, and Kazuma was kicking ass at volleyball. He'd managed to use his alter to form just a very thin layer of armor, covering only the skin beneath his glove. It wasn't enough to cause any suspicion or give him a completely unfair advantage, but he was still delivering some pretty vicious spikes. He'd also done a few shots himself, but only to the point where the volleyball seemed to be vibrating as it came toward him, not darting back and forth, so he was still pretty steady on his feet.

Kanami seemed to be all over the place. She was playing volleyball for a while, then somehow ending up as a passenger in one of the offshore drag races, then she was helping to cook some burgers over at a line of about ten barbecues. She was actually COOKING, at a party held in her honor, with somewhere in the neighborhood of two hundred fifty other people who could have done it for her. Unbelievable! But, she did seem to genuinely LIKE cooking, a concept he and Cougar found hard to accept.

On that note, a giant watermelon grew from nothing out of the sand in just a few seconds, and Cougar, Urizane, and Elian strolled camly out of it. After that, the volleyball game got a LOT more interesting, and before long most of the non-alter users were diving for cover as fountains of sand reached heights of a hundred feet or more. Somehow, the night was slipping by a lot faster than Kazuma had thought it would, which was both good and bad.

Ryuho put in an appearance around eleven, talking to Kanami for about five minutes, then taking about two bites out of a hot dog before throwing it away, and heading out. Typical. He was always acting like he was SO busy, but what was so urgent at eleven at night? Oh well, he'd probably be at the airport to see her off tomorrow morning.

Somehow, a crescent moon whirled by overhead, and before Kazuma knew it, it was about three in the morning. The few people who were still sober were packing their stuff up and helping their sloshed friends into various cars. A lot of people were passed out in the sand, and several people who had passed out early on were now passing out AGAIN, after a second round. Kazuma FELT completely sober, even though he probably wasn't quite there. Sober enough to carry on a conversation though, that was the important thing.

He started shuffling his way toward where Kanami was perched on a rock next to a driftwood fire that was close to going out, still talking with a few of her close friends from school. As he got closer, he was startled to see that she seemed to be having trouble sitting up straight, forget about standing. But he had only seen her with maybe two different beer bottles in her hand the whole night... That's when he noticed a mostly empty bottle of tequila sitting in the sand at the base of the rock, with a completely empty bottle of vodka next to it. She probably hadn't drunk it ALL by herself, but she'd definitely had more than her fair share, and had been using the beer as a chaser.

"Kazuma, you'd probably better take her home now." The friend nearest to him said quietly. That was odd in itself. Usually Kanami's female friends, and a lot of the male ones too, come to think of it, called him "Kazu-kuuuuun!" in an extremely annoying tone. Kanami must have said something to them, but what?

"You should probably keep the window down, too. In case she has to lean out." The friend on the other side said. "Ah, what do I mean 'in case'? Kazuma, she's GOING to need to lean out."

"I'm FINE!" Kanami announced, finally raised her head enough to realize that Kazuma was there.

"Hey, you feeling okay Kanami?" Kazuma frowned slightly in concern. The hangover was NOT going to be gone by her flight time tomorrow.

"What did I jusht shay?" She demanded, placing her hands on her hips. Only quick grabs by her two friends kept her from toppling backwards off the rock. "Kazha-kun... There somethin' I need ta tell you..." Kanami's eyes lost focus for a second, before trying to snap back into place. "Hey! Will you hold shtill?" Kazuma hadn't moved a muscle. "Anyway, you alwaysh act like you're shoooooo nishe to me... and maybe you usually are... But shometimes, you can be a big meanie, ya know?"

"A big meanie, me?" He asked, then thought about it for a second. He had done a few not so nice things in their time together, probably the biggest example being when he had left her alone for eight months following the second upheaval. Though that hadn't been entirely his fault. But, "Yeah, I guess I know what you mean."

They were all immensely surprised to see tears well up in her eyes. "I... I don't think you do." Kazuma was baffled, until her next line. "Like that one night, last shummer..."

'No!' Kazuma thought. 'Not here, not like this!' But then, the booze saved his hide.

Kanami gulped. "I... I thought..." She gulped again, then her eyes seemed to focus a bit in realization of what was about to happen. "Uh oh." She dropped to her hands and knees on the sand, then proceeded to douse most of the fire.

Kazuma just barely managed to pull her hair up out of the sand in time. "Okay, time to go home." He announced in a tired, yet patient sounding kind of voice.

"I'b sorry!" She wailed.

"I'm sure you are." He said easily. "Come on, let's go." He thought about hoisting her up in a fireman's carry, then realized that that definitely wouldn't help her nausea. He helped her to stand up, very wobbly, for just a second, then kneeled down and patted his back. "Piggy back. C'mon. If you try to walk, it'll take an hour to get to the van."

"Okay." She sprawled forward onto his back, clasped her arms around his neck, and didn't move a muscle after that.

"Hey, Kazuma." He hooked his arms around Kanami's legs, then stood up to regard her friends. "She's probably not going to remember now, but earlier she thought it was really important that she tell you-"

"I think it's really important that YOU mind your own business." Kazuma glared at the girl, who didn't say another word. Then, a broad smile replaced his glare. "It was a great party! Get home safe, okay? And be glad HOLD doesn't exist anymore, or most of you would be in jail before sunrise." He stomped off through the sand toward the van. He briefly wondered if he should try to wake Cougar and the others, who were all snoring in the sand. But he decided that if they could get here without him, then they could get back without him.

He was only about ten feet away from the passenger's side door when Kanami made an odd groaning noise on his right shoulder. He realized what this signified a fraction of a second too late, and decided to do the chivalrous thing by standing there and taking it, rather than dropping her onto the sand. Even so, it was still A LOT, especially considering that it wasn't her first of the night. "Kanami!! Ugh!! You could have warned me first!"

"Sorry." She mumbled as he opened the door and sat her down on the floor of the van, rather than in the seat. "I thought I could... control it." Kazuma got his shirt off as quickly as he could, doing his best to keep the stuff away from his hair. He wadded it up so that all the puke was on the inside, then handed it to Kanami. "Huh?" She stared it, uncomprehending.

"Blow." Kazuma said simply as he inspected his shorts to see if they needed to come off too. They did, but he didn't want to drive home in his underwear.

"What?" She still didn't get it.

"Blow your nose, kiddo." He almost laughed in spite of himself. "Or you're going to have an extremely unpleasant crust in there when you sober up."

"Oh." Kanami's eyes finally cleared a little in comprehension, and she complied. "Ewww!" She exclaimed as she surveyed the mess, then she handed the balled up shirt back to Kazuma without a second thought. He laughed in spite of himself. He briefly wondered if he should even try to wash the shirt, then he decided against it, and threw it out into the sand. He got Kanami buckled into the passenger's seat, then climbed behind the wheel himself. "Kazu-kun?" She mumbled softly as he started the engine.

"Hmm?" He asked as he concentrated on weaving between the many sleeping bodies, heading back to the road up the cliff.

"Wha' happened to your shirt?" Kazuma laughed louder, but made sure to hit the button that rolled down her window.

.

When he pulled up in the driveway a half hour later, she was asleep, though she had leaned out the window about halfway home in order to repaint the side of the van. "Man," Kazuma shook his head as he surveyed the door before opening it. He didn't think he'd EVER been as drunk as Kanami was right now. But why would she get so carried away when she knew she had a flight in... he glanced at the clock on the dash, eight hours now? He'd never seen her with more than a slight buzz before.

He hoped that he knew what the answer was, but he wasn't going to assume. And he was going to let her sleep until they pulled up in the airport parking lot, if that was at all possible. It wasn't just possible, it was probable, he discovered when he tried to wake her up enough to walk her into the house. She was dead to the world. In the end, he carried her inside in his arms, feeling uncomfortably like a groom carrying his new bride across the threshold when he maneuvered his way through the side door by the driveway. Although he was without a shirt, and there was a palpable odor of vomit in the air. Okay, so maybe he was like a new groom carrying his bride across the threshold after a wedding in Las Vegas. Not that he'd ever been to Las Vegas. Or anywhere else, for that matter.

He set her down on the couch, then headed up to his room to find some clothes. When he came back down in jeans and a new shirt, he found that she was awake, though she was just staring vacantly at the ceiling. He sat down on the couch just past her feet, and her eyes darted to his face, as though she really hadn't realized he was there until then. "You should go back to sleep." He said softly. "You've got a busy day tomorrow. Or I should say, later today."

Kanami groaned loudly. "Oh... fuck." Kazuma's eyebrows shot up in surprise. He'd never heard her use a swear word more severe than "damn". "Kazu-kun, I had something important to tell you..." Her eyes were trying to focus on his face, without much success, "Did I?"

Kazuma shook his head slowly. "Nah, but it can wait. You'll need to be able to walk and look at sunlight without wincing in about seven hours. Go back to sleep."

She sighed deeply, then nodded. "Okay."

As he was looking at her, Kazuma realized that she had splattered herself pretty good as well. He probably shouldn't let her sleep like this, but she didn't look like she was in any shape to get up and change clothes. "Kanami, you're wearing shorts under these jeans, right?"

"Mmm." She nodded slightly.

"And a tank top under your shirt, right?" If she was sober, she probably would have asked exactly how he knew this, but now, she just nodded again. "Okay, I'm gonna throw your outer layers in the wash, because trust me, they need it."

She made no response. She was probably asleep again. "Okay." Kazuma exhaled deeply. "Here goes." He felt like an extremely dirty old man as he reached over and undid her button, then unzipped her jeans. His hands were even trembling a little, and that was something they never did. But then, that moment was over, and he was struggling to pull her jeans off, which, when the jeans were covering a completely limp pairs of legs, was not an easy task.

Kazuma had the jeans down just past her knees when the side door of the house opened loudly, and he could hear Cougar's voice. "Hey, thanks for just leaving me back there! You know, you could have at least woken-" Cougar froze in place as he stopped at the bottom of the stairs by the entrance to the living room. Kazuma was frozen in place as well, an incredibly guilty expression on his face, apparently in the middle of removing Kanami's jeans. Cougar stood there for a second, mouth trying to find something to say. "I think I'm just going to... feed the cat. Well, get a cat... then feed it." He said slowly, then darted up the stairs without another word.

"It's not what it looks like!" Kazuma called after him. Then, Kazuma found himself laughing again. Kanami mumbled something as he pulled her shirt off, but didn't even open her eyes. He found a blanket in the hallway closet and tucked her in, then threw her clothes in the washer. As he collapsed in his own bed, he set his alarm for ten, and was asleep before he'd even been lying there a minute.

.

It seemed to Kazuma that he'd barely closed his eyes before the alarm was going off, and there was light filtering through his curtains. He went downstairs, threw Kanami's clothes in the dryer, then hopped into the shower. When he emerged, he found Cougar rubbing his eyes as he exited his own room. "Hey, good night last night?" Cougar smirked.

"Not really." Kazuma shook his head.

"I know." Cougar nodded. "If I'd thought you were really trying something, you'd still be unconscious right now. Still indecisive as ever, I see."

Kazuma started to protest, but realized that Cougar would give him an even harder time if he knew that Kazuma HAD made up his mind. "Sure, why not?" He shrugged, then went into his room to get dressed.

"Jeez, you're in a bad mood." Cougar frowned.

"Go have a look at the van, and you will be too." Kazuma smiled.

A minute later, he trudged down to the living room. Since it didn't have any windows, the living room was still fairly dark, and Kanami was still fast asleep. Instead of turning on the overhead light, Kazuma turned on the softer lamp next to the left recliner, and Kanami began to stir.

"Oh, that light..." She groaned, then her hands flew up to cover her eyes. "Oh, my head! Kazu-kun, why is the room spinning?" She took her hands away from her eyes, and very slowly sat up. "I never thought I'd say this, but what the hell did I do last night?"

"In short, you got wasted, plowed, smashed, sauced, shitfaced, snockered, steamed up, and any other way you want to put it." Kazuma smiled softly.

"All at once? Well, that's quite an achievement." She rubbed her eyes again, then managed to get her feet on the floor. "Kazu-kun, just what was it that you wanted to tell me last night?"

He slowly shook his head. "Nothing that can't wait until you come back to visit."

"Visit?" Her eyes darted around until they found a clock. "What time is it? Oh, crud! We've gotta leave in... well, right now!" She started to charge up the stairs, then Kazuma could hear her stop. "Kazu-kun, where are my clothes?"

"In the dryer." He said nonchalantly, glad that she couldn't see him blushing.

"Uh... huh. And why would they be in there?"

"Because they would still be coated in vomit now if I hadn't washed them."

"Vomit?" She sounded surprised, then he heard her sniffing loudly. "Ew. Yeah, there's definitely some risiduals. But when did...?"

She drifted off as they could both hear Cougar's voice from outside. "Sweet, merciful crap! MY VAN!"

"If I were you, I'd get in the shower before he comes back in." Kazuma suggested.

"Good idea." Kanami resumed her charge up the stairs.

.

They were all pretty quiet on the drive to the airport. Kanami was laying in the back with her eyes closed, enjoying a few more blessed minutes of not having to stand up. Kazuma was obviously down in the dumps about her leaving, and Cougar didn't feel like talking when it was obvious no one would talk back. The silence extended as they pulled up in the parking lot and carried Kanami's bags into the terminal, until finally Cougar couldn't stand it anymore. "Look on the bright side," he smiled. "You have a nice, long international flight to rest up still. By the time you land in Kyoto, you should be feeling lots better."

It sounded odd, an international flight to go from the former site of Tokyo to Kyoto, but flights directly from the Japan to the Lost Ground, or vice versa, were strictly forbidden. As a result, Kanami had to fly out to Pusan, South Korea before should could hop on another plane to Kyoto.

"That's true." Kanami smiled. As they headed out to the boarding gate, the smell of some freshly made pizza wafted out to them from one of the snack bars. "Food is starting to sound good, believe it or not."

"I don't believe it." Kazuma finally smiled as well. "Not after what I saw last night."

"I imagine it's for the best that I don't remember." Kanami looked out the window, to where several jets were taking on passengers. "Kazu-kun, did I say anything... odd, last night?"

"Yeah," he nodded, and she looked nervous all of a sudden. "You said, and this may not be a direct quote, but it's close enough: 'Bleeeeeeaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrggghhh!!'"

"Damn it!" Kanami tried to frown, but found herself laughing alongside the other two. "Yeah, I'm glad I don't remember." With that, they arrived at Kanami's departure gate, and found that it was already taking on passengers. "Well, I guess this is it." Her smile disappeared as quickly as it had come.

"Hey, we'll see you at Christmas break, and that's not so far off." Cougar leaned down to give her a hug, and she kissed him on the cheek.

"And remember to give us a call once in a while." Kazuma smiled softly. That was going to be some pleasant torture, since he'd already decided he wouldn't be telling her over the phone.

"Of course, silly." She gave him a hug now, and Cougar pretended not to notice that it lasted a lot longer than the one he'd gotten. She finally let him go, and Kazuma was just starting to put his arms down when she stood up on tiptoe and kissed him on the lips. She smiled at his mystified expression. "So you won't... forget me." She said very softly.

Now Kazuma was smiling again too. "On a list of impossible things that could never happen, me forgetting you is right at the top." It would be a comforting thought over the next three months that her smile was bright as she backed toward the gate, waved, and then went down to the plane.

"Well little brother, I think you'd better make up your mind pretty soon." Cougar had shrugged as he pushed his sunglasses back into place. "Because I think she already has."

'One can only hope.' Kazuma thought as they sat down on some of the airport's hard, plastic chairs to wait to see her plane take off. 'Because I already have too.'

.

Now, a little over three months later, Kazuma sat up straighter in his seat, and focused his bleary eyes from where he'd been vacantly watching the snowflakes hurry past his window. Maybe everything hadn't gone wrong that night after all, he concluded once again. Emotional drama and vomit encrusted clothes aside, it had been pretty fun. And what WOULD they have done if he had told her that night, anyway? She still would have left the next day, and the longing probably would have been a lot worse. Kazuma clenched his fist, full of fresh resolve. He WOULD tell her as soon as possible, and they WOULD have a couple weeks together, at least.

"Ah, the creaking leather of Kazuma's glove indicates that a decision has been made!" Cougar smirked from the driver's seat, sounding like some kind of narrator.

"Damn straight." Kazuma nodded. "I'm telling her, the first second we're alone."

"Then I'll try to see to it that you get some private time." Cougar nodded. "No promises though. This is probably going to be a VERY busy morning."

"Why? Do you know something I don't?"

"It just so happens that Mimori's parents are visiting the Lost Ground for the first time since we declared our independence, and their flight is also arriving this morning!" Cougar announced in under two seconds. "Come to think of it, they might even be on the same flight as Kanami. And between those two arrivals, the gang's all here!"

"What gang would that be?" Kazuma sighed.

"Well, let's see now!" Cougar began ticking off names on his fingers. "You, me, Ryuho, Mimori, and the kids... Urizane, Elian, the Tachibanas, and, more likely than not, President Ongola."

Kazuma sighed again. "It's gonna be a looooong day." The leather of his glove creaked again. "But, one more day isn't gonna kill me."

Cougar smirked again as they finally entered the city proper, and he turned onto the road that went out to the airport. "You'd better hope so."


	3. The Recurring Dream

**Christmas In The Lost Ground**

**Chapter 3: The Recurring Dream**

By Nanaki

_"I've been having a dream, several times recently, and it's not like my other dreams. For one thing, I can see myself in the dream, which is unusual in itself. Second, in the dream, I'm clearly having the best orgasm of my life, and it's not self-induced, to put it lightly. There's a man in the dream, of course, but I can't see his face, or his right hand. If I could see either of those details, I'd know if this was a dream I want to be having or not. Then again, it might not be MY dream at all. If it isn't, then I know who the man is, and that's a very good sign." _- Kanami Yuta, right now

* * *

"What's so important about his right hand?" Melissa Watanabe asked from the window seat. Melissa was Kanami's roommate in their dorm, and she was completely fascinated by the Lost Ground, though she'd never been there. Kanami hadn't exactly TOLD her that she was an alter user herself, it was just kind of an unspoken assumption. Then again, Kanami hadn't told anyone on the mainland that she had an alter power. It was amazing what could slip your mind when you knew you'd be quarantined for life if you DIDN'T forget to tell people.

"The person I HOPE is in the dream wears a fingerless black glove on his right hand, and I've never seen him take it off in the ten years I've known him. I'd be willing to bet that he doesn't even take it off in the shower." Kanami smiled.

"If you've known him for ten years, we must be talking about the 'Kazu-kun' you can't go five minutes without mentioning." A smirk appeared on Melissa's face.

Kanami blushed. "Well, yeah. I would've thought you'd figured that out already."

"Let's just say I was about 95 percent sure before, and now you've confirmed it." Melissa turned back to the window. It was about 5:15 in the morning, and it was still totally dark outside. Most of Japan was covered by thick clouds that occasionally reached up to the altitude their jet was cruising at, but a fairly full moon that was starting to set in the west made the clouds quite beautiful. "You realize, there are a couple dozen guys who would kill to be in Kazuma's position."

"I know." Kanami said softly. "And if Kazu-kun didn't exist, that might give me something to think about. But for me, there's no choice at all."

Melissa yawned. "Well, now I know why you insisted on leaving the morning after finals, instead of letting us get some sleep first."

"We'll have plenty of time to sleep at home later. Ryuho will probably insist on taking us out to breakfast first, though." Kanami explained.

Melissa yawned again, and stretched as much as she could in a coach section. "That's fine, but I'm gonna try to get a quick nap in before we touch down."

Kanami stood up. "Fine, but then give me the window seat."

.

Kazuma stifled a yawn as he trudged up the stairs from the snack bar area to the waiting areas by the boarding gates. Then he stopped and surveyed the scene for a second before continuing on. As Cougar had said, the gang WAS all here. Ryuho and Mimori were there of course, with their two kids. Their toddler, Hiryu, was in Mimori's arms, while their four year old, Scheris, was looking out the window, clearly bored with the grown-up talk. Kazuma still wasn't sure how Ryuho had managed to sell Mimori on THAT name for their daughter, but then, of Ryuho's two potential mates, Mimori had been less possessive by far.

Standing across from them were Asuka and Cammy Tachibana, with Cammy holding their newborn daughter, Kiriko. Both of the Tachibanas were practically the same age as Kazuma, so it freaked him out a little that they had a kid already. But then, he reflected, if everything worked out like he hoped it would, Kanami would almost certainly be a mother before she was twenty one. Not that he'd PLAN it that way or anything, but it would happen, he was sure. 'Whoah, it's way too early to be thinking like that!' He yelled at himself, but it didn't do any good.

Dozing fitfully in a couple of chairs were Urizane, and not one, but all three Elians. Once again Kazuma wondered just how many more clones of Martin Zigmarl there might be over on the mainland, and again he decided he was happier not knowing.

As Kazuma and Cougar wandered over to the loose circle, everyone slowly turned to face them. "Well, it's about time you got here." Ryuho smirked a bit.

"Hey, we're not family guys like you." Kazuma complained. "This is darn early for us. Besides, the flight's going to be delayed."

"Are you sure?" Ryuho raised an eyebrow, and gestured to a monitor on the wall. It showed Flight 707, inbound from Pusan, South Korea, scheduled as on time, due to arrive at 5:45.

"Look at the weather." Kazuma shrugged, and sat down. He'd barely gotten comfortable when the monitor flashed, and a large "Delayed" logo appeared next to 707, with the arrival time changing to 6:15. Outside, in the lights shining out through the tinted airport windows, the snowfall seemed to be getting even heavier. "Told you." Kazuma did his best to curl up on the hard plastic, to try to get a power nap in.

"Looks like a good plan." Cougar nodded, and found a bench to lay down on himself. "You family types can wake us up when the plane gets here."

"Man, didn't you guys even TRY to go to bed early?" Ryuho sounded disgusted.

"Hey, she didn't call until after 7:30." Kazuma answered, not opening his eyes. "And I didn't get up until about noon yesterday. Unless she called you a lot farther in advance, which we both know she didn't, I didn't have enough warning to adjust my sleep schedule."

"It wouldn't have mattered if she did." Cougar added, not opening his eyes either. "He was up at two this morning anyway."

"Oh, Ryuho's just giving you a hard time for the fun of it." Mimori smiled. Ryuho made a shushing gesture, which she ignored completely. "He couldn't sleep at all last night, he's so nervous about the in-laws coming."

Kazuma did open one eye now. It was hard to imagine Ryuho, who now sported a neatly trimmed, very dark green beard and mustache, and his usual, constantly severe expression, as being nervous. He also usually dressed in a business suit these days, even going so far as to wear it into combat, so he could show an enemy his spotless clothes when they were done fighting to prove no one could lay a hand on him. This morning though, he didn't look like he was feeling on top of the world, and there were bags under his eyes.

Upon seeing his eye open, another head of dark green hair filled Kazuma's field of vision. "C'mon Kazuma, let's play!" Scheris shook his arm. She had discovered long ago that, of the adults who seemed to be around her father a lot of the time, Kazuma was by far the most likely to actually play.

"Not now, kiddo. I'm really tired. I promise we'll play after breakfast, okay?" Kazuma shut his eyes again.

"But I'm so bored!" Scheris complained.

"Let Kazuma rest." Cougar said gently. "He's convinced that he's going to need ALL his strength saved up for later." This got a snicker from pretty much everyone who was awake, minus the kids.

"Will you shut up?!" Kazuma snapped. He looked around quickly for something he could throw at Cougar, but not finding anything, just shut his eyes again.

"All right, there's got to be something we can do, other than sleep." Mimori sat down.

"I brought a deck of cards." Cammy handed Kiriko over to Asuka, and reached into her pocket to dig the cards out. "Though I don't think one deck is enough for everyone..."

Kazuma was grateful that the conversation finally seemed to be passing him by, and he fell into a very deep sleep.

.

This time he was sure that he hadn't been asleep for more than five minutes when he felt several pairs of hands shaking him. "Mmph! The plane better be here, or we better be under attack!" He declared as he sat up, rubbing his eyes.

"The plane IS here." Cougar's voice sounded tired too. "And you've been out of it for well over an hour."

Kazuma looked up at a clock on the wall, and was startled to see it reading 7:10. The flight must have been delayed again, which wasn't surprising. Looking outside, he saw that it was starting to get light, even with the bad weather. He lurched to his feet and had a good stretch, now feeling stiff all over. Surveying the scene, he saw that plenty of other people were waiting in the room now too. Cammy was putting the cards away, and Urizane was waking the three Elians. Then, people started to come up the boarding ramp from the jet, and he was wide awake.

He was halfway to where the others were waiting when he realized that somewhere in that hodgepodge of half forgotten dreams, he'd had THAT dream again. The dream that he would NOT be telling her about for quite a while, even if things did work out. Not as intense as it sometimes was, obviously, or he'd be racing off to the bathroom right about now. But still, it was going to be damn hard to see her face without blushing.

And on that thought, there she was. "Holy cow." Cougar said appreciatively. "I thought that plane was transporting humans, not snow bunnies."

Kanami was dressed for the cold like the rest of them, but she was in a matching top and bottom that somehow managed to be form hugging, even though they were pretty thick. Her hair, as it did more and more often these days, fell freely down her shoulders, without anything to hold it in place. Coming up the ramp next to Kanami was another girl dressed almost the same way, the main difference being that Kanami's outfit was light blue and white, while hers was two different shades of purple. Kazuma only then remembered that Kanami had said she was bringing a friend along.

Cougar subtly slid his sunglasses down over his eyes so no one would see exactly where he was looking. The second girl coming off the plane HAD to be with Kanami. They looked like they were the same age, and they were dressed too similarly for it to be a coincidence. As he slowly walked forward with Kazuma, he idly wondered what her ethnicity was. He had long suspected that Kanami wasn't of pure Japanese ancestry, given her fairly light hair color and wide, extremely expressive green eyes. Her friend almost HAD to be a mixture. Cougar was guessing half Japanese and half American, though there were traces of something else in there too. But then, there were other things to occupy his attention.

"Kazu-kun!" Kanami rushed forward and threw her arms around Kazuma's neck, obviously in pure bliss at being reunited with him. "Boy, did I miss you!"

"Not as much as I missed you, I'm willing to bet." He smiled as he hugged her back, closing his eyes for a second as he got a whiff of her perfume. It was a much nicer scent than what he'd gotten the last time he'd been this close to her, and he almost laughed at the thought.

Everyone started to look the other way or clear their throats as the embrace just kept going, and Cougar began to wonder if they'd wait until they were alone after all. But then, Ryuho broke the awkwardness. "So, introduce us already."

Kanami released Kazuma, looking embarrassed as everyone waved or winked at her. "Right. Everyone, this is my roommate, Melissa Watanabe. Melissa, this is..."

Kazuma entered a trance-like state as Kanami made the introductions. She was poetry in motion. No, she was a goddess! And he... He was being way too obvious about the fact that he couldn't take his eyes off her. He forced himself to look up at the clock for a second. He reminded himself that if she didn't feel the same way, that hug was yet more proof that she would at least let him down very easy.

Kanami managed to look composed as she introduced Melissa to everyone, but she felt a few butterflies in her stomach. She'd again felt the strength in his arms when they embraced, and she wanted those arms to hold her tight and never let her go. She was also pretty sure he'd been wearing a subtle amount of cologne, and that was definitely new. Kazuma had a big grin on his face as she pointed him out, and she reminded herself that if he didn't feel the same way, he would at least let her down easy.

When the introductions were over, Kanami was about to say something else, but Melissa jumped in with a question. "So, just out of curiousity, how many of you have an alter?" Kazuma, Cougar, Ryuho, Tachibana, Urizane, the Elians, and Scheris all held up their hands, while Mimori held Hiryu's hand up for him. "Wow." Her eyebrows went up, but she didn't seem to be intimidated, they noticed.

"I'm guessing this one does too." Tachibana nodded at the infant he was holding. "But we just don't know yet."

"Oh, I wanna see the baby!" Kanami dashed over to him. "She wasn't born yet when I left. Ooh, she's a cutie!" Kanami nodded, then closed her eyes, and a very soft, ethereal glow surrounded her. In a second the glow vanished, and her eyes opened again. "Yes, she definitely has an alter. I just don't have any idea what it might be."

"Considering that she can't even sit up by herself yet, I'm not surprised." Cammy laughed.

"Well, shouldn't we head down to the baggage area?" Kanami asked.

"Most of you should." Ryuho nodded. "Mimori and I need to wait here for someone else." But at that moment, Mimori gasped, and Ryuho knew they were here. He took a moment to curse silently before turning around with a smile on his face. He'd really hoped that everyone wouldn't be here to see this.

"Mimori!" A pair of what looked to Kazuma like overweight bureaucrats rushed forward and embraced Mimori like they'd thought she was dead. Which, it occured to him, they probably had at some point. "Oh, it's been too long! You look wonderful!" Her mother was saying.

"It's good to see you again, Ryuho!" Tadanori Kiryu held his hand out, and Ryuho shook it more tentatively than Kazuma had ever seeen Ryuho do anything.

"Likewise, sir." Ryuho tried to force a smile, unsuccessfully.

"Ha! Looks like you're properly nervous about our visit!" Mimori's father laughed.

"Now, don't be too hard on him." Mimori said as she bent down to introduce Scheris. "It was my decision to stay here. Plus, it wouldn't be safe for me to visit the mainland without Ryuho, and there's no way they'd ever let him leave the Lost Ground."

"Be that as it may," her mother whirled on Ryuho, "You could still have-"

Kazuma realized he was enjoying Ryuho's discomfort just a little too much. "Come on, let's go get your bags." He gestured for everyone to follow him, and to his immense surprise, they did.

"Wow, I'm surprised everyone was willing to leave the soap opera." Kazuma said quietly to Cougar as they were heading down the stairs.

Cougar's trademark smirk was on his face. "It might seem surprising, little brother, until you consider that we're pretty sure we'll see an even better one if we stick with you."

.

As expected, Ryuho had insisted on taking all eighteen of them out to breakfast, although two of the kids weren't likely to eat anything off the menu. It was about as light as it was going to get outside, and the heavy snowfall looked very pretty now, rather than dark and depressing. Kazuma would rather have just gone home and gotten some shut eye, but the food WAS pretty good. He was having an omelet with ham, cheddar, and apples, and it was huge. The apples gave it kind of an odd texture, but it still tasted great. Plus, he'd ended up sitting across from Kanami, though he wasn't sure if it was because she'd wanted that spot or everyone else had kind of shoehorned her in there. Both, he hoped. Not like they were getting a chance to talk though, since there were about half a dozen other conversations going on.

Kanami had already eaten on the plane, so while she slowly nibbled away at a cinnamon roll, she was stealing glances at Kazuma when he was concentrating on the food or the conversation. He was looking pretty good, considering that he was one of the most active combatants in the Lost Ground. Both his eyes were wide open, and the lack of a squint in his right showed that he was having no trouble keeping them that way. There weren't any lines on his face, and since he had rolled up his sleeves in the warm restaurant, she could see that the parallel lines on his right arm were very faint. Clearly, he hadn't seen the need to go beyond his alter's most basic form in quite a while. His hair was all one color too, and... was that the sweater she'd made for him two years ago? It was, she could tell from the very amateurish needlework.

She looked over at Ryuho as she realized everyone was paying attention to him now. Even though pretty much everyone was familiar with it to some degree, Ryuho was going over everything that had transpired in the six years since Mujo's defeat. It was always interesting to hear about this stuff from the leader of the LGDF anyway.

For the first two years after the Lost Ground had proclaimed its independence, crime had been rampant throughout the island, and with no HOLY to back up HOLD, most of HOLD's forces had been completely destroyed, especially since Ryuho and Kazuma had helped destroy the HOLD units loyal to the mainland. During that time, Kazuma and Ryuho were often putting in twenty hour days, and their bodies were barely holding together under the strain of constant alter use.

Eventually though, they won the respect of almost all alter criminals. Even now, the Lost Ground still didn't have much in the way of jails. Usually, when an alter criminal woke up after having been thoroughly flattened by Kazuma, Ryuho, or Cougar, he found a note taped to his chest reading simply: "Bet you won't do that again, huh?" In the large majority of cases, the fear of another complete butt whupping was an effective deterrent. In the small number of cases when this wasn't effective, a high gravity track very similar to the one that had been at the old HOLY headquarters was waiting just outside the city, and when THAT didn't work, well, that's when an extremely powerful alter user started to be a problem, and needed to be taken out. That single big problem had taken to hit and run tactics lately though, and if he couldn't actually teleport, then he must have been packing some speed that could rival Cougar's.

At any rate, after two years, Ryuho, Kazuma, Cougar, Tachibana, and Urizane had become the founding members of the Lost Ground Defense Force. Like HOLY, the LGDF was composed entirely of alter users, though they didn't wear uniforms. They also didn't travel in heavily armored transports, preferring instead to use their alter powers to get around. Almost any alter power could be used as transportation if you put your mind to it, and these days it was a common sight to see Kazuma punching his way rapidly around the countryside when he was on a mission. When people complained about the huge potholes in the road he created, he usually replied that he'd be happy to stop doing it if they wanted to buy him a jet that could hover. That usually shut them up. At least he didn't create gigantic CRATERS like Cougar did if he wanted to jump somewhere in a hurry.

These days, crime was fairly low, and invasions from the mainland had stopped long ago. Ryuho and Kazuma were working a lot less than they had been at first, while collecting a larger paycheck. Well, Kazuma was. The rumor mill had it that Ryuho actually volunteered. Then again, he already had more money than he knew what to do with, so why not? Considering that the Lost Ground's low, low taxes had paid for their house, Kazuma and Cougar were starting to build up quite a nest egg as well. Or possibly enough money for the best honeymoon ever, Kazuma thought, if he could just figure out a way to smuggle himself past Japan.

'Don't get ahead of yourself!' He shook his head to clear it. 'You still have to tell her how you feel!'

Now Ryuho was waving for the waiter to bring him the check, and everyone was stretching and getting ready to go. "So, should we meet up again for dinner tonight?" Asuka asked, getting out of his chair. "Or should we spend today resting up?"

"I vote for the rest." Kazuma said, covering a yawn.

"Yeah, me too." Ryuho nodded. The bags under his eyes had gotten darker, despite several cups of coffee.

"The Kazuma contingent officially votes for rest." Cougar announced.

"The Tairen contingent does too." Mimori said, rubbing her eyes.

"The Tachibana contingent is surprised it didn't fall asleep during the meal." Asuka announced, prompting a few laughs.

"All right then." Ryuho nodded, smiling now. "Let's meet up for dinner tomorrow night at the seafood place down on the waterfront." The group at the table began to break up, and Ryuho headed straight for Kazuma, his usual severe expression back on his face. "Be ready to go at a moment's notice tonight. We may be close to tracking down Kenjo."

"Oh goody. Imagine my delight." Kazuma said as he blinked sleep from his eyes. "I don't think even that nutjob would pull anything in this kind of weather."

"If he did though, it would be the perfect cover."

Kazuma nodded slowly. "I'm always ready to go. You know that."

"I'm just saying, because even if you're in the middle of something important, I'd still need your help to take him down."

"Something important?" Kazuma shrugged. "Like what?" Ryuho tugged his head, ever so slightly, in the direction where Kanami was pushing in her chair and getting ready to go. "You mind your damn business." Kazuma hissed.

Ryuho held up his hands. "I didn't say anything!"

"Good, let's keep it that way." Kazuma glowered.

"Ready to go, Kazu-kun?" Kanami came up beside him, with Melissa and Cougar just behind.

His frown dissolved instantly. "Yeah." He put his jacket on, and they headed outside, into the thickly falling snow.

.

"You know, I think we need to head to the furniture store before we go home." Kazuma said as they piled into the van. Cougar was driving, as usual.

"Why's that?" Cougar asked, looking out the back window as he backed up. Even with the heater on defrost mode, the windows were still fogging up pretty quick.

"We're short one bed. I'm willing to do the chivalrous thing and give up mine, but I don't want to sleep on the couch either. We need a mattress, at least."

"You could always sleep in a recliner, you know." Cougar rubbed the windshield with his sleeve, to try and clear it up faster. "You seem to do that pretty well when you're NOT going to sleep for the night."

"Yeah, but I like to sleep on my stomach." Kazuma wiped his side of the windshield too.

"Fine." Cougar sighed, and turned deeper into the city at the next light.

Kazuma wasn't sure why, but the sound of the van wheels sloshing through the snow was very comforting, and the heater was finally starting to make it nice and warm. It turned out that Cougar was the only one still awake when they pulled up at the store.

.

(Nanaki's note: I actually ran into a bit of trouble with this chapter. Namely, trying to figure out just what exactly Ryuho's full name really is. For some reason, when Ryuho's father introduced himself in the second episode, I assumed Ryu was the family name. An assumption that was only strengthened by Mujo's tendency to refer to Ryuho and his father with terms like "the Ryus family" or "the Ryus estate". However, now that I've actually gotten off my lazy butt and done some research online, it appears that most seem to think "Tairen" is the family name. (And not "Deiran", as it's spelled in the English version credits.) Yes, I am aware that if Ryu was the family name, Ryuho's full name would be "Ryu Ryuho", which is silly. But, since I've known both a Matthew Mattias and Zack Zacharias in real life, silly didn't mean impossible.

Thinking about it more though, I realized that every other name in the series was given in the western style (i.e. family name comes last), and there was no real reason to think that Ryuho's family was an exception. Hence, "Ryus" must have just been a patronizing nickname Mujo preferred to call them by. Also, though the Gundam franchise has gotten me used to names that aren't pronounced even remotely like they're spelled, everyone else writes the family name as "Tairen", not "Deiran", so I will too.

On another note, I'm sure many of you have noticed that Kazuma and the gang seem to have a tendency to eat foods a bit more western in style than you would expect for people of Japanese ancestry. It just seemed to me that, aside from making things easier for an American like myself, since the Lost Ground is currently in a state of cold war with Japan, many residents would probably make a conscious choice to differentiate themselves from the Japanese as much as possible. Hence, burger joints instead of noodle joints. All right, that's enough of my babbling for now. Stay tuned for more chapters in short order.)


	4. Kanami's Surprise

**Christmas In The Lost Ground**

**Chapter 4: Kanami's Surprise**

By Nanaki

Kazuma woke up when the constant noise of the van engine stopped, and was surprised to see the house in front of him. "Huh? What's up? I thought we were going to the furniture store." In the back seat, the two girls were also starting to move.

"WE did go to the furniture store, and I did all the work while you three slept." Cougar informed him as he opened the door. The blast of cold air entering the van woke Kazuma up completely. "I knew I could use my generosity as leverage when it came time to unload the van, which is what YOU'RE going to do while I go straight up to bed."

"Urgh..." Kazuma stretched, then nodded. "All right, fair enough." He opened his own door, and turned to see a mattress tied down to the roof of the van, completely covered with snow. Luckily, someone had had the foresight to throw a tarp over it before tying it down.

"There's no way we could've brought a whole bed back. Not in one trip, anyway." Cougar explained as he headed for the door. "Good night for now." He waved, then went inside.

"Huah..." Kanami stepped outside and stretched. "What time is it?"

Kazuma glanced at the dashboard clock, feeling a sense of deja vu as he did. "A little after ten."

"So it's almost exactly the same time as the last time I woke up at home." She observed.

He smiled warmly. "Hey, yeah. I hadn't even thought about that. I bet your head feels better this time." Kazuma began untying the ropes on the roof rack, managing to spill snow all over himself as he did so. "Why don't you two take your bags inside, and I'll lug this thing in?"

"Okay, Kazu-kun." Kanami went to grab her suitcase, and Kazuma hopped up in the doorframe to try to sweep the snow off the top with his arm.

.

About ten minutes later, Kazuma stumbled into the house having managed to get both himself and the mattress completely covered with snow, never mind the tarp. He tried to shake it off in the doorframe, but didn't have much success that way either. "All right, here's what we're gonna do." Kazuma announced as Kanami and Melissa came to stand at the entrance of the kitchen. They had taken their winter gear off, and they were both wearing form hugging sweaters, flattering figures that didn't need any flattery. They were also snacking on some of the cookies that he'd made earlier and subsequently forgotten about completely. "I'll leave this thing propped here, and get about three of the space heaters in front of it. It should dry off pretty soon that way. Then I can get some sleep. You two can go ahead and get some shut eye, though."

"Where though, Kazu-kun?" Kanami raised an eyebrow.

"Um... Good question. Well, let's see. Okay, Kanami's bed has clean sheets, since we just got her room ready a couple days ago, but otherwise..."

"Okay." Kanami looked thoughtful. "I'm betting Kazu-kun hasn't washed his sheets since I left, so..." Kazuma remained silent, because she was absolutely right. "I'll grab a nap in his bed, and Melissa can take my bed. Then, if Kazu-kun can figure out which closet the spare sheets are in, he can get the mattress ready."

"Sounds like a plan." Kazuma nodded, and the girls headed upstairs. Kazuma dragged the heaters out of the kitchen and dining room, and set them up in front of the mattress like he'd said. The living room heater though, he propped up on the arm of the recliner he sat down in, and he was asleep within five minutes.

.

"Well, get a load of this lazy bum!" Kazuma's eyes opened partway to find all three other current denizens of the house surrounding him. "Can't sleep in a recliner, my ass." Cougar shook his head.

Kazuma closed his eyes again. "Urgh... What time is it?"

"About three o'clock." Cougar reached over and yanked the handle up on Kazuma's recliner, forcing it into the upright position. Kazuma still didn't open his eyes.

"We need to go get a tree!" Kanami reminded him.

"Plus, if you want to be able to claim that you ever officially put those desserts you made away, you might want to get on it before we finish eating them." Cougar smiled.

"All right, all right. I'm up." Kazuma lurched to his feet and stumbled into the kitchen.

"Those desserts really are good, Kazu-kun." Kanami told him as he began stacking them in various plastic containers.

"Ah, they're just a pale imitation of what you made last year." Kazuma shrugged. Suddenly, he had the impression that Kanami was frozen with surprise behind him. He turned around, and found that his impression was correct. "What's up?"

Kanami slowly shook her head in disbelief. "I'm sorry, did you just COMPLIMENT my cooking?"

"Of course." Kazuma smiled, realizing that this moment had been ten years in the making. "You've been a master chef since you were about thirteen."

Kanami's jaw dropped. "Then why the heck didn't you tell me?!"

Kazuma shrugged as he put the plastic containers full of goodies away in the cupboard. "I dunno. I thought that was just one of our things."

Kanami was shaking her head, but a smile appeared on her face. "You're unbelievable, Kazu-kun."

"Oh, I think we all agree on that." Kazuma showed a very Cougar-like smirk.

Now her smile seemed to turn a little devious. "Well, it just so happens that I have a surprise for you, too. We need to head out to a deserted area, though." Kazuma suddenly felt like his heart had dropped down into his stomach, until she added, "Well, it's a surprise for everybody, actually."

"Fine, and we'll head out to get the tree after that." Cougar nodded. He was having a hard time from cracking up after seeing the expression that had appeared on Kazuma's face for that split second. Once again, Cougar reflected that he'd be glad when they finally got their feelings out in the open. They'd better hurry up and do it soon though, or he was going to lock them in a room together for a night and see if that sped the process up any.

.

"What are we doing here?" Kazuma wondered aloud. They really were out in a field in the middle of nowhere. Kanami had insisted on scouting around until they found a place with several large boulders, though she wouldn't say why. Only a few scattered flakes of snow fell from the sky now, but the snow was almost knee deep, and the sky was dark and forbidding.

"Because, I thought it best to perform this showy bit of alter use away from the house." Kanami said, and was pleased to see raised eyebrows on everyone. "Kazu-kun, I'm going to need to peek inside your head." Before he could say anything, she elaborated. "I won't touch your conscious thoughts though. I need to go down to your unconscious layers, to the thoughts you don't even know you have..."

Kazuma thought about that dream again, and wondered if that was in his sub-conscious, then what the hell was going on in his unconscious mind? But the alter glow was already surrounding Kanami, and it was too late to protest.

Kanami was tempted, very tempted, to take a peek into his conscious thoughts and see what exactly was going on in there. It could make things so much easier, either way. But ultimately, she decided against it, just as she always had before. Besides, this was going to be fun.

Everyone jumped in surprise as two shallow craters appeared in the ground. Kanami held her right arm out straight in front of her, fingers splayed apart as far as they would go. Everyone, Kanami included, was mesmerized as thick, rocky and metallic armor surrounded her arm, and three spiky protrusions appeared on her back.

"Whoah! Is that her alter?" Melissa asked aloud, wide eyed.

"No..." Kazuma whispered. "That's MY alter." It was indeed the first form of his alter, down to the last detail. The only difference was that the parts that were a dark orangeish-red on his were a dark blue on hers. What was gold on his arm was gold on hers too. Even this didn't surprise him as much as what she did next though.

Given her fairly high pitched voice and gentle temperament, Kazuma had thought that it was impossible for Kanami to sound truly mean or aggressive, but he had thought wrong. As one of the blue spikes on her back disintegrated, she jumped in the air, and a green fountain of energy erupted from her right shoulder. "Shocking... First... BULLET!!" She roared as she plowed her fist into one of the boulders. When she came to a stop, she had passed completely through the boulder, which did not, technically, exist anymore. Small chunks of stone were raining down for about a half mile in most directions.

She punched the ground, rocketing herself into the air, and set her sights on a second boulder. "Annihilating Second Bullet!!" The fountain of green energy appeared again, and she slammed into the boulder at a forty five degree angle. This attack left her at the bottom of a ten foot deep, diagonally oriented crater, while more stone fragments rained around the countryside. She punched the ground again, rocketing high into the air once more, and then...

"Holy crap!" Cougar and Kazuma exclaimed at the same time. While Kanami had retained the blue and gold color scheme, she was otherwise now identical in appearance to the full armor form of Cougar's alter.

"Rapid Kill FINAL BULLET!!" A heavily armored, many-limbed dervish of destruction encased in a tornado of green energy, she slammed into a third boulder hard enough to pulverize it into a fine powder. With that done, the alter around her dissolved into the air, and she collapsed into a sitting position in the space the boulder had just occupied. "Whew! I think... that's about enough... for today!" She announced, breathing heavily.

"Well, that pretty much settles it." Cougar's smile returned. "If she can copy anyone's alter ability, then she's all but invincible. She's definitely the most powerful alter user every recorded."

"Yeah, you're right." Kazuma nodded. He didn't feel even the slightest hint of jealousy, only pride. It almost felt like he owned some high ends sports car, say a Ferrari, and he'd tossed her the keys to it, then watched her take it around the race track absolutely flawlessly. He waded through the snow to where she was sitting, and offered her a hand up. "Kanami, when did you figure out how to do that?"

She looked a little embarrassed. "When you can't use your alter with much power, you start to figure out ways to use it with a lot of finesse. Let's just say that I've really figured out what my alter can do since I've been trying to pretend I don't have one."

"I'm still impressed that you handled it so flawlessly." Kazuma nodded.

"No kidding." Cougar pushed his glasses up on his forehead. "The very first time I tried the Rapid Kill Final Bullet, I was unconscious for two hours, and I could hardly walk for two days."

"Yeah, about that." Kanami held up a hand and grabbed onto Kazuma's. He hauled her to her feet, where she wobbled unsteadily for a second before collapsing back to a sitting position on the ground. "I don't think walking is an option any time soon. I feel like I just finished an all day workout."

"Do you still want to come with us to get the tree, or should we just take you home?" Kazuma raised an eyebrow.

Kanami fought off a wave of dizziness that made her want to close her eyes and go to sleep right where she was. "I want to go, but I might need a little rest first."

"All right then, let's go." Kazuma bent down and scooped her up, carrying her the same way he'd carried her into the house on her last night home, when she was completely wasted.

"Kazu-kun?" She looked up at him, a little surprised.

"Either way, you still need to get to the van first, right?" He smiled down at her.

"R-right." She nodded. She wondered if he had any idea how much she was enjoying the feeling of his arms supporting her. Though he was basically her father figure, physical contact between the two of them had always been relatively rare, and had gotten rarer as they'd gotten older. Maybe that was because they were always a couple of smartasses to each other, and their affection usually took the form of a joke. Or maybe it was because they were afraid of what could happen if they truly got comfortable in each others' arms. At least, she HOPED that was the reason, anyway. 'Is that it, Kazu-kun?' She silently formed what she wanted to say to him out loud. 'Is that why you hesitated that night when I tried to show you how much I love you? Were you afraid of what might happen if you allowed yourself to love me that way?' She contemplated her own question for a second, enjoying the soft rhythm of Kazuma wading through the snow with her in his arms. 'I guess... I'm a little afraid too. Everything that might mean... But that won't stop me!' She looked up at Kazuma's face, and the sudden motion of her head caused him to look down at her.

"What's up?" He asked easily, hoping she didn't notice the twitching in his upper lip that was the result of his really wanting to kiss her, now that she was in his arms, and awake, and sober.

"Kazu-kun, we really need to talk. Alone." She said, nervous about what his reaction might be. She was relieved to see a really warm smile light up his face; probably a warmer smile than she'd seen on him in a long time.

"Yeah," he nodded, "We sure do. Tonight."

With that, they were at the van, and the smile on Cougar's face was lacking some of its usual smugness as he slid the side door open. Some, but not all. "Glad you got that settled." He nodded. "But right now, we need to get a Christmas tree!"

Kazuma could not have cared less about the tree by this point. He helped Kanami slide into the second row seat, then slid into the spot next to her as nonchalantly as he could, considering how many butterflies were in his stomach. He slid his left arm around her shoulders, and she used his bicep as a pillow. Kazuma felt that warm sensation in his gut again as she let out a contented little sigh, and she was asleep in under a minute.

Kazuma looked up at the rearview mirror, and found the reflection of Cougar's eyes meeting his. "You better tell her tonight, little brother, or I am seriously going to kick your butt."

"I will." Even though he was still nervous about telling her, a slight smile remained on Kazuma's face. "I will."

"Wait a minute!" Melissa turned around in the passenger seat to regard Kazuma. "Are you guys talking about... what I think you're talking about?"

"Certainly not." All of the smug rushed back into Cougar's voice. "Although, I'll admit, I don't know WHAT we're talking about." With that, he turned his eyes back to the path the van had made in the snow, as he drove back to the road.

"Wait, but Kazuma..." Melissa began, but Kazuma held up his right hand.

"What Cougar said." Kazuma nodded, then closed his eyes as well.

Though they both had smiles on their faces, it was obvious to Melissa that they MEANT 'Mind your own business.' So she wisely decided to keep quiet as they headed toward the city.

.

"Well, I guess this is what you get when you wait until December 22nd to get a tree." Cougar shrugged, surveying the meager remains of the city's only Christmas tree lot. The Lost Ground had several tree farms as well, where you could cut one down yourself, but those farms were already closed, and it was already after dark, and they wanted a tree tonight.

"Why didn't you guys get a tree before now, anyway?" Kanami rubbed her eyes, still half asleep.

"Well, we THOUGHT you weren't coming home until the morning on Christmas Day." Kazuma shrugged. "And then we were supposed to head right over to Ryuho's after we picked you up at the airport. We figured if we got a tree, you wouldn't even see it until Christmas was almost over anyway. Plus, we didn't feel like moving the furniture around so we could squeeze a tree in there."

"So the short answer would be: sheer laziness." She smiled.

"Right." Kazuma nodded. "But maybe we should have stashed one in the garage, just in case." They spread out to look for a tree that was halfway decent, without much luck. There were plenty of trees under four feet tall, and one that was about eight, but few in between. The trees were under a tent-like pavilion that was in danger of collapsing from the weight of the snow on it, so most of them were pretty dry too. Kazuma tilted the eight foot tree up and spun it around. "This one would be pretty good, if it was short enough to fit in the living room."

"Hmm..." Cougar lifted the tree up and slammed it back down, then frowned at the rain of needles that drifted down to the ground. "If we wanted to burn the house down, yes."

"Picky, picky, picky." Kazuma shook his head. "Fine then, how about the crooked one?"

.

At about ten that evening, Kazuma was kind of sitting, kind of lying on their huge couch, just staring at the tree. The base of the trunk was crooked, so that they'd had to fasten it in the tree holder at a really weird angle in order to get most of it looking straight. It had ended up being a little too tall for the room, so that the star on top was bent to the side at an angle thanks to the low ceiling. They could have sawed a little off the bottom of the tree, if they had a saw, which they didn't. Breaking the top off would make it look ugly, Kanami had said. Besides, the crooked top fit in with the rest of the tree. A lot of the bulbs on the lights had burned out since last year, so they'd replaced those with bulbs from a few strings that didn't work. It ended up that there were some clear white lights in there, along with a disproportionately large number of blue ones, for some reason. Plus, aside from a few basic, colored spheres, there wasn't one ornament on the tree that matched another one. There was an ornament of the starship Enterprise, for some reason, and one of the original Gundam. There were a couple featuring various Captain Crunch characters that had come in a box of Crunchberries cereal a few years back. There was a large styrofoam ball covered in glitter and sequins that Scheris had made in preschool last month. In short, it was tacky, it was garish, it was perfect. At least, Kazuma thought so. It looked like a tree that a FAMILY would have. Not one of those theme trees where every decoration matched every other.

Kanami was resting with her back against his bent legs, using his knees as a pillow. They'd all started out watching TV earlier, and Kazuma didn't think it was an accident that they'd ended up back on the couch. Kazuma had given up his recliner to Melissa, and Kanami had said she didn't want him to be alone over here. Cougar and Melissa had done some serious eye rolling at this, but Kazuma still wasn't assuming anything. The TV had been on mute for about forty minutes now though, so even though he was facing away from the recliners, he was pretty sure the other two were asleep. This was it, he realized, the tree now all but forgotten. This was the big moment. "Hey, Kanami." He said quietly. He got no response. "Kanami, you awake?" He shifted his legs just a little bit.

"Mmm... Barely." She responded, not moving. "What's up?"

"There's something I've been wanting to tell you for a while now, and now seems like a good time." He felt her back stiffen against his legs, and got the impression that she was now much more awake.

"Would this be the same something you almost told me on my last night at home?" She asked, somewhat anxiously, Kazuma might have noticed if he wasn't so nervous himself.

"It is." He said simply. "I know we joke around a lot, and seem to enjoy giving each other a hard time. But, in all seriousness, I-" At that second, Kazuma's cell phone started ringing. "Fuck! You gotta be kidding me!" He glared at the screen displaying who was calling. "Ryuho? Damn it, I have to take this." Kanami sat up, and he swung his legs down to the floor. "Just... hold that thought. Whatever it is... you might be thinking." He flipped the phone open and thumbed the answer button. "Ryuho, this better be the most important call you've EVER made, or we're gonna have a problem tomorrow."

"Hey, I warned you this morning, didn't I?" Ryuho said absently, sounding like something else was on his mind. "Anyway, this IS important. Intel has a fix on Kenjo, and I need you with me to bring him down. Is Cougar there?"

"Yeah." Kazuma turned to regard Cougar, who was starting to snore loudly.

"Good. Bring him too."

"Are you taking EVERYONE to fight this guy?" Kazuma raised an eyebrow. "Aren't you supposed to be Mr. Confident?"

"We still don't know what his power is!" Ryuho shot back. "Better safe than sorry. Or do you want to spend Christmas in the hospital?"

"No, you're right." Kazuma sighed. "All right, we'll meet up at the headquarters in about ten minutes." He clicked the phone off without waiting for a reply. He forced Cougar's recliner into the upright position, then shook him when Cougar remained fast asleep. "C'mon big brother, we gotta go."

"Wha?" Cougar mumbled. "But I don't wanna feed the cat bacon while it's in the bathtub..."

"Doofus! We still don't actually have a cat, remember?" Kazuma dragged Cougar to his feet, and the taller man blinked.

"Oh, right. Well, we must be heading out on a misson then. Kenjo, I assume?"

"You assume correctly." Kazuma headed over to the closet to put his coat on. "Kanami, we'll be back before morning... I hope. But we'll return victorious, I know that."

'I know that too.' Kanami thought as she waved them out the door. 'Because you're only going to be fighting his henchmen.' She stood up, and went to the kitchen window as the van pulled out of the driveway. 'I can feel you out there, watching.' She thought at the sense of foreboding that filled her head. 'You think you're so damn smart, sending everyone off on a wild goose chase, don't you? Well it's only because I wanted it that way. Now we'll find out... if I'm strong enough to deserve him. Now we'll see if I can stand up to living the life... of Kazuma the Shell Bullet!'


	5. A Bit of the Old Ultraviolence

**Christmas In The Lost Ground**

**Chapter 5: A Bit of the Old Ultraviolence**

By Nanaki

_"I've been having the oddest dream lately. In the dream, I'm clearly older than I am now, and I'm standing up on some kind of stage or platform, with Kazu-kun's alter on my arm. I'm surrounded by hundreds, maybe thousands of people, all bowing down like they're worshipping me. And I'm just standing there with this... infuriatingly benevolent smile on my face, letting them carry on. It's bizarre. There's only one person I want to adore me like that, and I adore him the same way."_ - Kanami Yuta, right now

* * *

As she put her own coat on, Kanami went over what she knew about Kenjo Kigetsuki. It wasn't very much. He was widely assumed to be Sou Kigetsuki's younger brother, though no one really knew for sure. Also, no one really knew what his alter power was. Though now that he was close by, Kanami could tell that if his power wasn't exactly the same as hers, then it was at least pretty close. She wondered whether she should wake up Melissa and tell her to hide in the garage, but considering that this was going to be a fight between alter users, she was probably as safe where she was as anywhere else within a two mile radius.

Kanami closed the side door softly behind her, then walked to the end of the driveway before she called out, "You can come out now Kenjo! I know you're out there."

"Well then, that makes my job easier." Kenjo said genially as he stepped out from behind a tree just up the street. So close that Kanami should have been able to sense exactly where he was, but she hadn't. That was a bad sign. He had a relaxed smirk on his face, but there was a very intense look in his piercing aquamarine eyes, and it was only heightened by the way his spiky black hair hung down into his field of vision. Melissa would have called it "anime hero hair", and that thought helped Kanami relax a little. "Just come along quietly, like a good little hostage, and no harm will come to you." He still sounded relaxed, but Kanami could see the anger in his eyes.

"Me, a hostage?" She smirked. "Apparently you have no idea who you're dealing with."

"Oh?" He raised an eyebrow. "You have a fantastic alter for intelligence and espionage, but I doubt that it's much good in a fight."

"I'll just have to prove you wrong then, won't I?" A fierce grin lit up Kanami's face, and it only got fiercer when Kenjo's eyes widened with surprise as two craters appeared in the ground on either side of her, and Kazuma's alter surrounded her arm. "Shocking... FIRST... BULLET!!"

As she rocketed toward Kenjo, green energy exploding out of her back, he simply held his right hand forward, and a small disc that looked like an opening to the other side appeared in front of him. As Kanami's fist neared it, she was stopped in her tracks, until the energy fountaining from her back gave out, and she dropped back to the ground. Kenjo hadn't even flinched. "Oh, so you DO have the same power I do, more or less." He shrugged. "Fine then. Alter Alias!"

Kanami had never seen the alter, but she recognized the name. The oddly shaped, vaguely humanoid alter in front of her was the power of Martin Zigmarl. In addition to being a fierce fighter, it had the ability to control air pressure. She prepared to copy Cougar's alter, so she could dash quickly out of the way... Just a second too late. A blast of air smashed into her like it was a solid object, lifting her off the ground, pounding her back into the wall of rock behind the house. She stumbled forward again, finding it difficult to stand, or to focus her eyes, for that matter. She should have been able to sense that attack coming, but she hadn't. Somehow, he was blocking her perception. She could only hope that her power was doing the same to him. "You don't seriously think... it'll be that easy, do you?" She held her armored fist forward again.

"Judging by the fact that you can barely stand now, yes I do." Kenjo put his hands in his pockets.

The second dark blue spike on Kanami's back shattered, and she jumped up, rocketing forward again. "Annihilating... SECOND... BULLET!!" Kenjo's reaction was the same as before.

"I could have sworn we just did this." He used his free hand to stifle a yawn. "What made you think the result would be different?"

"Zetsuei!" Kanami shouted in response, and as a command. Rushing up to her left in a blur, the first form of Ryuho's alter came to an abrupt stop, then thrust its antennae at Kenjo. He held up his other hand to ward them off, but they writhed around his shield like snakes, and pounded into his stomach just under his ribs.

Kenjo went flying across the street, ending up upside down in a snowbank. He was back on his feet in a second, brushing snow out of his hair. "Two at once, huh? Pretty good. But not nearly good enough!"

'Now, before he can attack again...' Kanami thought. Instantly, more craters appeared in the street, and additional armor surrounded Kanami's arm, reaching up to surround her right eye as well. The blue spikes on her back were replaced by a spiky golden spiral. "Shell Bullet BURST!!" She charged forward as before, grey energy erupting from her back now.

Kenjo held up that annoying disc again, but he was having to concentrate now. "I see Kazuma's reputation for being an idiot is rubbing off on you." He observed calmly. "You just keep trying the same thing, over and over."

"Don't fault what works." Kanami smiled, then her mouth opened wide in a joyous howl. "Shine brighter!! More power! And more!!" A golden energy radiated from her fist, steadily getting brighter, until the prismatic disc of energy in front of Kenjo's hand shattered. Once again he went flying, this time much farther. Kanami wanted to follow, but she could barely move as a throbbing pain shot through her right arm. "Ugh..." She groaned. 'But Kazu-kun used to use this form of his alter constantly! Did it really hurt this much every time?'

"Are you enjoying yourself?" Kenjo asked as he stood up. "Time to put a stop to that. Alias!"

"Zetsuei!" Kanami thrust her left arm forward. The two humanoid alters both succeeded in preventing the other from reaching its target, but the stalemate ended quickly as an expanding wall of air hurled Kanami and her version of Zetsuei backward.

"I'm going to enjoy this!" Kanami heard Kenjo's voice through ringing ears, followed by what sounded suspiciously like an armored fist punching the ground. "Shocking... FIRST... BULLET!!"

Kanami managed to rise to a kneeling position, just in time to see a fountain of green energy bearing down on her. She didn't have time to think of a good defense. "Zetsuei!" She held her arm up in desperation, and her Zetsuei faithfully darted between her and Kenjo, antennae crossed to absorb the blow. There was just one problem with this. As Kenjo's fist connected, Zetsuei dug its feet into the ground, to no avail. Kanami was caught behind Zetsuei as it went flying backward, and ended up being smashed between her protector and the rock wall behind the house.

As her vision went blurry and the sound reaching her ears became muffled, she struggled to remain conscious. She lost her control over Zetsuei, and Ryuho's alter dissolved back into the air. She tasted blood on her lips, and could only hope it wasn't caused by internal bleeding. "Your raw power IS impressive, I'll give you that." Kenjo conceded. "But your skill leaves much to be desired. Now come along quietly, before you REALLY get hurt."

'Damn it! How can I be losing to this asshole?' Kanami shook her head, but her vision didn't clear any. 'I can't lose! I'm going to be the wife of Kazuma the Shell Bullet! There's no way I can lose to an idiot like this!' She took a shaky step forward, and almost fell to the ground. 'Even so, I'm pretty thrashed. If I'm going to win, it has to be with the next attack!' "No matter what happens, this battle is not going to end QUIETLY!" She shouted at Kenjo. More of the driveway disappeared into the air, and she was again covered by the full armor form of Cougar's Radical Good Speed. She lifted one foot into the air, then slammed it back down, launching herself high into the sky. "Rapid Kill FINAL BULLET!!" She screamed as she launched the dervish of destruction that was herself at Kenjo.

"Hey, this could get interesting after all." He observed, then two large craters appeared in the street, and he too took on Cougar's full armor form. "All right! Rapid Kill Final Bullet!!" Over eighty blows were thrown in the next two seconds, but Kenjo landed the ones that ended the exchange. A high side kick to the chin sent Kanami flying into the air, where Kenjo brought both fists down in a back hammer that left her at the bottom of a four foot deep crater in the street. As her armor dissolved into the air, she managed to roll onto her back, but couldn't seem to move any more than that. "Still conscious, are you?" Kenjo raised an eyebrow. "That could be a problem once you rest up a bit. At least if you still have some power left..."

With that, Kenjo opened his mouth wide, and a yellow net of energy seemed to spring from it. On some level, Kanami realized that this was the alter of Kyoji Mujo, but she was a bit more preoccupied with the pain. It was almost as if every blood cell in her body was trying to drill its way to the surface at the same time. She tried to concentrate, tried to summon Zetsuei again, but it was no good. She began to lose consciousness, even through the pain, and realized that she had indeed lost, and rather spectacularly.

"Shell Bullet RAIN!!" Dozens of blasts of gold energy slashed through the net, and Kanami dropped back down into the crater. Even as Kenjo was still backing up to avoid this, Kazuma dropped down on the edge of the crater, positioning himself directly between Kanami and danger. "Are you hurt, Kanami?" Kazuma asked softly, not taking his eyes off Kenjo.

"Everywhere." She whispered, trying to find the energy to stand up, and not succeeding.

"Ah, Kazuma, this is most annoying." Kenjo said, hands going back into his pockets.

"ANNOYING?!" Kazuma roared. "We don't have the death penalty in the Lost Ground, but even so..." He clenched his armored fist, and took a menacing step forward. "If you EVER touch her again... I'LL KILL YOU!!" He held his fist up, and the portal on the back of his hand opened, beginning to radiate gold energy.

"She's the one who started this fight, though I know you won't believe me." Kenjo took his hands out of his pockets, and spread his feet farther apart. Kazuma was hardly the most skilled alter user in the world, but Kenjo knew from experience that Kazuma could take an enormous amount of punishment and keep on swinging.

"Of course I don't believe you!" Kazuma rose up to hover in the air, and began the slow twirl to the left that signaled he was about to attack. "Shell Bullet BURST!!" He rocketed forward, knowing that Kenjo would be able to stop this one, but really feeling like punching something anyway. He was still surprised though, to see Kenjo enveloped in Cougar's alter.

"Rapid Kill Second Final Bullet!!" Kenjo became the blazing green whirlwind once again, and sprang to meet Kazuma's charge.

Kazuma had no way to copy Cougar's alter himself, of course. But he had sparred with his surrogate older brother enough to have developed a move to counter it. "Shell Bullet LIGHTNING!!" He dug his heels into the ground, and the energy of his forward charge transferred to his fist, then transformed into four golden lightning bolts that arced out to the side, then converged back on Kenjo's whirlwind form. Kazuma guessed that Kenjo's foot was only about six inches away from his chin when the lightning connected. Kenjo was hurled hundreds of feet through the air, to land tumbling end over end in the snow, finally coming to a rest in the bottom of a five foot deep trench in the ground. "Second Final Bullet?" Kazuma asked scornfully. "You're just a living oxymoron, aren't you? Or some kind of moron, anyway."

"Oh, bravo." Kenjo began clapping sarcastically as he stood up. "That is, without doubt, the most clever thing I've ever heard in my life."

"Cleverness isn't my specialty." Kazuma shrugged. "Beating the living shit out of you is." Now the fierce grimace returned to his face again. "I'll give you one chance. Surrender now, or you ARE going to the hospital after this is over. If you're lucky."

Kenjo looked down in disappointment. "Well. You stole my line." With that, he disappeared. Kazuma instantly raised his arm up in front of his face, but he'd barely finished this when he felt a foot connect with the base of his spine. His legs slid out from under him, and he fell to the ground very hard. His senses had barely registered this, though, when his left arm was nearly yanked out of its socket, and he went flying hundreds of feet up into the air. Once up there, a tremendous gust of wind hurled him back to the ground many times faster than he would have fallen. If he hadn't managed a semi-controlled crash with a well timed punch, it probably would have killed him. He'd barely managed to get back to his knees when he sensed Kenjo rushing up behind him. It was pure luck that Kazuma's desperate kick managed to connect with Kenjo's neck. A shot to the throat like that would slow anyone down. "Damn you, Kazuma!" Kenjo croaked as he staggered backward on suddenly unsteady feet. "You of all people should understand! You used to be just like me!"

"I was never like you." Kazuma growled, lurching back to his feet. "I fought for freedom. You only fight for yourself."

"What gives you the right..." Kenjo had to pause to inhale deeply. "...To judge me?"

"No one GAVE me any right." Kazuma held his fist up, and the portal in his hand opened again. "I earned it! With this PROUD FIST!! SHELL BULLET BURST!!"

"Shit!!" Kenjo held his hand up to form the prismatic shield again, but Kazuma's fist broke through like it was made of glass. Now, Kazuma was flying forward just as fast as his blows sent Kenjo flying, so he delivered a running series of brutal punches as they flew off through the snow. He sent Kenjo high into the air with a tooth loosening uppercut, then punched him back toward the ground.

"Final Shell Detonation!" As soon as Kenjo touched down, he was engulfed in a massive explosion, while the golden spiral on Kazuma's back dissolved into the air. He touched down on the now bare, wet ground lightly, his now bare right arm held at an awkward angle that showed he would have been letting it hang limp if it didn't hurt so much. "Still conscious down there?" He asked, breathing heavily.

"Of course." Kenjo stood up easily, now covered in the full armor form of Radical Good Speed once more. "And since you've used up all your power, this is going to be altogether too easy." Kazuma took a step back, raising his bare arms to defend his head. He hadn't used ALL his power, not by a long shot, but he had been expecting that attack to end it, and he wouldn't be able to re-form his alter for a little while. A little while, against someone with Radical Good Speed at his disposal, was practically forever. "Rapid Kill Third Final Bullet!!"

"Burning Summer!!" Before Kenjo could connect with Kazuma, a roaring blast of fire pushed him back, as Kanami walked up to stand next to Kazuma. Both were disappointed to see Kenjo land unharmed, still encased in the armor.

"You think you can beat me... with my own brother's alter?!" Kenjo roared.

"I thought it was worth a shot." Kanami said softly.

"Thanks, Kanami." Kazuma said quietly. "Now get out of here!"

"No way!" She shook her head violently. "You need my help!"

"He almost killed you before!" Kazuma took his eyes off Kenjo to stare at her in disbelief.

"And that's what he's going to do to you now!" Kanami shouted back.

"Correct." Kenjo said simply, and they both whirled to face him again. "Rapid Kill True Final Bullet!!" He charged forward, and Kanami prepared to use her desperation move... only to find that she didn't have to. Before Kenjo had covered even half the distance to them, his armor quickly dissolved into the air, and he spun down into a snow bank.

Kazuma calmly walked up so that his feet were only inches away from Kenjo's head. "Well, did we overdo it a little bit?"

"Damn it!" Kenjo cursed. "What the hell is this?!"

"Just doing that move once wiped Kanami out earlier." Kazuma squatted down to look him in the eye. "Even you couldn't keep it up forever. Now, say goodnight."

"Damn y-" With that, Kazuma's fist connected solidly with Kenjo's jaw, and he was out like a light.

"Well, I wonder what he was trying to pull here." Kazuma stood up, dusting his hands off.

"He said he wanted me as a hostage." Kanami shrugged. "I imagine he wanted to set a trap for you." Then, she looked down at the ground. "How did you know he was here, Kazu-kun?"

"I came because you needed me." He said simply. "And I always will." Then, a smile appeared on his face. "But to tell you the truth, the neighbors down the street called my cell to complain about the noise. I figured it was just one of Kenjo's henchmen, not the man himself. So I told Cougar to go ahead and help Ryuho while I headed back here."

Kanami couldn't meet his gaze. "Kazu-kun, I'm sorry..."

He looked surprised. "What are you sorry about? You did great! I'm sorry I didn't get here sooner."

She shook her head. "I knew he was out there, before you left. I could feel his presence."

"What? Then why didn't you tell us?" Kazuma scratched his head.

"I wanted to fight him..." She admitted. "I wanted to see if I was strong enough to really help you. To show that I'm not a kid anymore..."

"Kanami..." He said softly, and to her surprise, he walked forward and enfolded her in a hug. "You've always helped me." He whispered in her ear. "Even when you were a kid. And I know you're not a kid anymore."

She returned his embrace gladly, but something still seemed to be bothering her. "Then why-?"

"Later, losers!!" A cloud of snow and a blast of air washed over them as Kenjo charged into the distance, obviously having decided that discretion was the better part of valor.

"Get back here, you little shit!" Kazuma stepped away from Kanami, and instantly, his alter was back on his arm. Without a second thought, he punched the ground hard, rocketing away after Kenjo, who already had a significant lead.

"...Are you hesitating?" Kanami finished her question, slowly lowering a hand that had been outstretched in Kazuma's direction. She stood there silently, pain radiating from several spots on her body. She slowly became aware that footsteps were crunching through the snow toward her, and turned to see Melissa, about twenty feet away.

"Holy cow!" She exclaimed. "Kanami, are you okay?"

"Still in one piece." Kanami nodded.

"Man, that was the most amazing thing I ever saw! It was like real life Dragon Ball Z!"

Kanami frowned in puzzlement over this reference for a second, before she realized what Melissa meant. Melissa was a big fan of "classic" anime, and always seemed to be watching something from the 20th century when they weren't at class. Kanami had a soft spot for Astro Boy and anything by Hayao Miyazaki, but she'd steered clear of most of Melissa's collection ever since she'd been subjected to an incomprehensible and disturbing show called "Neon Genesis Evangelion".

"Amazing to see, I suppose, but I still got my butt kicked." She said, but a soft smile appeared on her face.

"Yeah, but Kazuma kicked the kicker." Melissa pointed out.

"He'll get away though." Kanami sighed. "He always does. But right now, I need to lie down."

.

Kazuma trudged dejectedly up to the front porch at about three in the morning. Cougar was sitting in one of the wooden rocking chairs they never had the sense to put away during the winter, apparently oblivious to the cold. "No luck?"

"Nope." Kazuma shook his head. "He was using YOUR power though. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised." Kazuma had followed Kenjo's trail fairly easily until it went into the Undercanyon, the great crack in the earth that started just a few miles north of the house, and made most of the western Lost Ground unlivable. This was where great slabs of rock jutted a mile or more into the air, sheltering a canyon that descended far below sea level. Ryuho had met up with him there, and the two had scoured both sides of the canyon for hours. With little snowfall and vegetation to find a trail in though, their quarry had succeeded once again in vanishing without a trace.

"He must have a hiding place somewhere in there." Cougar said, looking thoughtful. "Everyone's always on the lookout for him everywhere else."

Kazuma stopped and stretched. "I suppose, but I've thought about that dingus enough for one day. I need some sleep."

"Huah..." Cougar yawned, and stood up. "Me too. Though we should definitely be off for the next few days. Kenjo will bide his time for a while before striking again." They headed inside and silently hung up their coats, then began trudging up the stairs. Cougar wasn't blind to the fact that Kazuma was heading up to his own bed, rather than the mattress downstairs, but he didn't say anything. It was probably unintentional, and if Kazuma wanted to use his own bed, rather than the mattress, then that was his prerogative, no matter who else might be in there.

.

Kazuma kicked off his shoes as he closed the door behind him, not bothering to turn on the light. The whir of his heater was comforting, and he didn't even bother to take his clothes off before he climbed into bed... to find another warm body already in there.

"Mmm?" Kanami moved a little, but otherwise didn't respond.

"Oh, jeez. Sorry Kanami. I forgot you were in here." Kazuma threw the covers back, ready to head back downstairs.

"No problem." Kanami said softly, probably not opening her eyes, though it was too dark to tell. "You're letting in cold air. Pull the covers back up."

"Huh? You sure you don't mind?" He asked, though he was already climbing back under the covers.

"I trust you, Kazu-chan." She mumbled, obviously almost back to sleep already.

Kazuma stiffened, feeling like his heart had just exploded in his chest. 'Kazu-CHAN?' He hadn't imagined that, had he? Lying there, staring at the back of her head through what little light filtered through the window, he couldn't be sure. Maybe he was just hearing what he wanted to hear. That was probably it. Or else she was just calling him immature. That was definitely a possibility as well. As he listened to the soft whir of the heater, and the slow rhythm of Kanami's breathing, it was easy to relax, even with his mind racing like this.

As he drifted toward sleep, for the third time in the last twenty four hours, he realized that this was another perfect moment, right here. Now he could tell her everything, certain that no one else was listening in. And considering that she didn't seem to mind sharing a bed with him, he was up to about 99 sure. Yes, now was the perfect time, if only he could find the energy to open his eyes...


	6. The Truth At Last

**Christmas In The Lost Ground**

**Chapter 6: The Truth at Last**

By Nanaki

December 23rd dawned bright and clear. Kazuma slept right through it, and the rest of the morning. By the time he finally got up, around one in the afternoon, it was snowing again. Kanami was long gone, and he almost started to wonder if he'd dreamed the night before. If he had though, he should be waking up on the mattress, not in his own bed. He grabbed some fresh clothes out of his closet and headed for the shower.

When he headed downstairs, he found the living room deserted. Wandering into the kitchen, he found Melissa sitting at the table by herself, alternating between frosting cookies and staring idly out the window. "Hey, what's up?" He dropped into the chair at the end of the table. "Where's everyone else?"

"Cougar went out to try to find someone who'd fix the driveway on the 26th." Melissa said. "Kanami kind of filled it full of holes last night, you know." She elaborated at Kazuma's blank look.

"Oh, right." He nodded. "Well, that's no big deal. We've got plenty of money."

"You do?" Melissa raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"Well, Lost Ground money. It's pretty worthless outside of third world countries. Which most of the industrialized world thinks we are, I suppose."

"So if you went on vacation to say, Albania, you'd be filthy rich."

"I suppose..." Kazuma tilted his chair back, looking at the ceiling. "I doubt I'll ever leave the Lost Ground though. I'd be assassinated instantly."

"So then how will you and Kanami..." Melissa trailed off as Kazuma fixed her with a glare that could have melted through steel.

"Who said anything about Kanami?" He growled.

"Nobody. Never mind." She stared at the cookies.

"Where is Kanami, anyway?" His expression went back to normal.

Melissa was hard pressed not to laugh, but knew he wouldn't understand what was so funny. "She left a note. Apparently some of her high school friends dropped by while we were still asleep, and wanted to take her out to breakfast. She thought she'd be back by eleven though, so who knows."

Kazuma shook his head. "She'll be gone all day then. She was one of the most popular people in her high school, so I'm sure there's probably a crowd of fifty people surrounding her by now."

Melissa was clearly surprised. "One of the most popular in school? Are you serious? She's developed a reputation around the dorm as the shy one."

"She was surprised too." Kazuma shrugged. "It's not like she went out of her way to be noticed. I think her the rest of her class just finally noticed what some of us knew all along."

"Which is?" Melissa probed.

Kazuma smiled in spite of himself. "You don't give up, do you? Fine then. They noticed that she's smart, and kind, and sensitive, and fun, and STUNNINGLY beautiful, among dozens of other things I could list."

"When did you two meet, anyway?" She asked.

Kazuma closed his eyes in relief. He'd been a bit worried about where this conversation was going, but this was a safe question. "Almost ten years ago, now. I was thirteen, she was eight. I was running away from trouble, naturally, and she happened to be hiding behind the ruined building I'd also picked as a hiding place. I asked her if it was all right if I stood there, and she held out the loaf of bread she'd been eating. 'I don't want to get hurt,' was her reasoning. I was pretty much shocked at that, I'll admit. Who'd want to hurt an adorable kid like that?"

"There are plenty of people, I'm sure." Melissa sighed. "Especially in a place as lawless as the Lost Ground was back then."

"I know." Kazuma frowned. "But I suppose I was still a clueless kid myself, back then. I told her that if she didn't want to get hurt, she should be inside, where it's safe. But I could tell, even before I finished my sentence, that she didn't have any 'inside'. Not one where there was someone to take care of her, anyway. I made some speech about how you needed to think before you act, and she tore the loaf of bread in half and gave me part of it. And that, as they say, is that."

"Really? That quick?" She was surprised.

"Are you kidding? I couldn't get rid of her, after that. Plus, she fed me, so I didn't really want to. Somehow, we ended up commandeering an abandoned doctor's office before too long. She handled the domestic side of things, while I went out and tried to get money."

"How is it that she was all by herself that young, anyway?"

Kazuma thought about it, and was surprised to realize that he didn't know. "I have no idea, actually. We never talk about what happened BEFORE we met each other. Those weren't good times for me, and I'm sure they weren't for her, either. But in a way, we're lucky. Most people don't get to pick who's in their families."

"So you already think of her as family?" Melissa had a slight smile on her face now.

"Yeah, her and Cougar." Kazuma nodded. "Why?"

"Nothing." Melissa shook her head, trying to supress laughter, it seemed. "I was just thinking that Freud would have had a field day with you."

"Who?" Kazuma's brows knitted in confusion.

"Never mind." Melissa smiled. "Let's just frost some cookies."

"Fine with me." Kazuma picked up a knife.

.

It turned out to be an interesting afternoon. Kazuma realized sometime after they had been talking a while, that most men, if they were just meeting the two for the first time, would probably find Melissa more attractive than Kanami. She looked more delicate, she was skinnier, her breasts were bigger (though not by much), and she was somehow both a natural blonde AND Asian, which was difficult to pull off unless one of your parents was half white-half hispanic and the other was Japanese, which hers just happened to be. On some level, a level below his hips but above his thighs, Kazuma recognized this. However, he was pleased to find that he wasn't interested at all. If Kanami didn't exist, then he might have something to think about, but she DID exist, and she was what he wanted.

Melissa had definitely had the more interesting life too, if you didn't count being used as Mujo's trump card interesting, that is. She'd lived her early life on Okinawa, gone to grade school in California, spent junior high and the first two years of high school in Kobe, and finished high school in upstate New York. She was fluent in Japanese, English, and Spanish, and was currently taking German.

"Why German?" Kazuma asked.

She shrugged. "I might end up dealing with them a lot. I'm a Business major, though I don't know if I'm going to stick with it. If I do though, Germany's done really well since the Euro was introduced, so German just keeps getting more and more useful."

"Not as useful as Chinese though, I'd bet." Kazuma smirked. He did watch the news now and then.

"Right now, yeah. But eventually they're going to try to take down the United States, and that'll be the end of that."

"You don't think China would win in a war with the U.S.?" Kazuma looked quizzical.

Melissa shook her head. "China may have a much larger military, but the U.S. has WAY more nukes."

"I don't think they would use them though. I'd like to think people know better." He clasped his hands under his chin.

"One would hope so." Melissa nodded. "Unless George Bush IV gets elected."

Kazuma laughed. "Even the Americans couldn't be THAT stupid, could they?"

Melissa laughed too. "They elected one, two, and three didn't they?"

Kazuma nodded. "They elected one and three, but not two. Not the first time, anyway. And they were smart enough to kick one and three out after one term."

Melissa's smile broadened. "I'm surprised you know that. About two, I mean. That whole thing in Florida..."

"Why the hell do people even LIVE in Florida?" Kazuma wondered. "It's just a giant swamp filled with alligators and armor piercing mosquitos the size of station wagons."

Melissa shrugged. "I wonder the same thing about all of the south... and most of the great plains states. Plus Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, Nevada, and of course, New Jersey."

"Nevada's full of alligators?" He raised an eyebrow.

"You know what I mean!" She laughed.

The side door opened up, and Cougar quickly shut it behind him, shaking snow off his coat. "Hey, what's up?" He stepped into the kitchen, then sat down at the table, right next to where a heater was whirring in the corner.

"Just talking shit about America." Kazuma laughed. "It's pretty fun."

"I don't doubt it." Cougar smirked. "But don't forget, they're a lot friendlier to us than Japan is."

"Hell, that's true of pretty much every country on Earth." Kazuma observed.

Cougar shrugged, then turned to look Kazuma in the eye. "So... good night last night?"

Kazuma had actually succeeded in NOT thinking about Kanami for a little bit, which was rare these days, so it took him a second to realize what Cougar meant. "Oh. No, I fell asleep."

"Really?" Cougar raised an eyebrow. "She was limping this morning, so I kind of thought..."

Kazuma blushed so furiously that Cougar was afraid the capillaries on his face were going to start exploding. "It must have been because of the fight last night. I didn't do anything."

"You're pathetic, Kazuma." Cougar stated bluntly.

"I know." Kazuma hung his head. "But, it's not easy... to put it all on the line."

"Is he serious?" Melissa turned to Cougar. "Does he seriously not know?"

"Incredible as it may seem, yes, that's exactly the case." Cougar laughed.

"What the HELL are you talking about?!" Kazuma demanded, then abruptly changed his mind. "Never mind, just shut the hell up!" The other two were both laughing hard now.

"Anyway..." Cougar decided not to press his luck. "Ryuho called to say we're all supposed to meet up at the restaurant at six. I ran into Kanami and roughly seven million of her friends while I was grabbing a bite at that deli down on the waterfront, and she said she'd be hanging out with them until then."

"That figures." Kazuma groaned.

"Hey, you had PLENTY of alone time last night." Cougar pointed at him. "It's no one's fault but your own."

.

"Are you serious? You STILL haven't told him yet?" This question came from more than one mouth, in various forms.

"Well, no..." Kanami stared down at her folded hands. Most of her high school friends had taken off now, since a lot of them had jobs or something else they had to do. Now she was sitting at a large, round table in a coffee place on the waterfront with five friends, kind of killing time until dinner, kind of still catching up. This was one topic though, that she had hoped wouldn't come up. "I guess I'm still hoping he'll be the one to say... well, everything."

"Hey, in most ways, Kazuma's one of the bravest people who ever lived. But there's one thing that absolutely terrifies him."

"Sock puppets?" Kanami ventured a guess.

"Well okay, one other thing. And that thing is girls."

"You really think so?" Kanami regarded Kazuma as nervous around the opposite sex, but hardly terrified.

"Are you kidding? He goes stiff as a corpse around anyone even remotely his age who could even remotely be deemed attractive."

"Maybe what you think is fear is actually him barely restraining his urge to punch you since you guys tease him so much." Kanami grinned.

"That's probably part of it." More than one voice admitted. "But he hesitates, definitely. I'm sure he hesitates partly because of you, but he also hesitates with YOU too, so I'm sure fear plays a role."

"Then what is he afraid of?" Kanami was pretty sure she knew, but she wanted other people to confirm it.

"Oh, come on, Kanami! This is basic psychology. He's afraid of rejection, of course. Especially from you. You've been the one constant in his life for a long time now, and he's terrified of ruining the relationship you already have."

"That's what's holding YOU back too, by the way." Another voice cut in.

"Exactly. You're both afraid of getting hurt. But look at it this way: If, by some astronomically low chance, we've all misread the signs and he doesn't feel the same way, he's at least going to let you down incredibly easy. Do you think he's going to laugh, or be scornful, or even very surprised? Of course not."

"Yeah, I've been telling myself the same thing." Kanami admitted.

"Then why can't YOU tell him how you feel?"

'Good question.' Kanami thought. Given the way he'd been acting since she got home, she was up to about 95 percent sure that Kazuma felt the same way and everything would work out great. But that 5 percent of doubt was a heavy weight. She knew that he wouldn't be mean, and would do his best to turn an awkward situation into no big deal. But how, if he didn't return her feelings, could she go on knowing him? How, when every fiber of her being ached to be with him whenever she thought about him, could she still have any contact with him, knowing there was no hope? Thoughts like that were what kept her silent. It was easier to just keep her love a secret, and enjoy what they already had. She'd already been doing it for ten years, not counting one night. 'But would I rather keep doing it for sixty more years, or put everything on the line and risk it getting worse... or much, much better?' It was a question that stirred the butterflies in her stomach into a tempest.

One of her favorite things that she'd ever heard Kazuma say was, "So there I was, stuck between a rock and a hard place, when I thought to myself, 'What am I doing on this side of the rock?!' That's when I moved to the other side of it." But from her position between the rock and the hard place, Kanami couldn't see how to move to the other side.

.

Dinner was, in a word, wonderful. Kanami had some kind of chili crusted salmon, while Kazuma went with the steak and shrimp. Cougar wound up with an entire lobster, while Ryuho was going for swordfish. White wine flowed freely, and most of the people having something of a deep fried nature ordered a beer or two. "I wonder who invented deep frying." Kazuma thought aloud as he pushed his plate away, finally having cleaned it.

"I believe it was the Count of the small fiefdom of Cholesterol in Italy, circa 1200 A.D." Cougar answered, delivering the line as if it were an actual fact and not something he'd just thought up. This got a laugh from most of the table.

"Whoever it was, he should have also invented something to help you stand up when you're done eating." Kazuma patted his stomach.

"Hey, you're the one who had steak, shrimp, a baked potato, a bowl of chowder, AND three beers." Kanami observed. "It's no one's fault but your own."

Kazuma stiffened noticeably at this, and Cougar and Melissa raised eyebrows at seeing him stiffen. "You're right." Kazuma nodded, in a serious tone of voice that had nothing to do with the conversation that had been taking place. "I think I'd better work on that later tonight." He gave Kanami a pointed look, and everyone else at the table suddenly became extremely interested in their plates.

'Is he saying... what I think he's saying?' Kanami wondered.

Cougar, never one for uncomfortable silences, stretched, then broke it. "So, who's up for catching a movie after this?" That brought up the eternal debate about what to see, which had a tendency to go on for a while.

Kazuma leaned forward. "We still need to have that talk. Alone." He whispered to Kanami.

She tried to calm the butterflies in her stomach before she nodded. "You got it, Kazu-kun."

"Kazuma?" Mimori turned toward him, and everyone else followed suit. "What do you vote for?"

"Actually..." Kazuma cracked his knuckles. "I think I'm gonna pack it in early. Nothing good that I haven't already seen opens before Christmas Day."

"I think I'm gonna head home too." Kanami nodded. "I'm still kind of wiped out from the fight last night, and I've been out all day."

"I suppose you're gonna make me drop you off then, aren't you?" Cougar complained.

"Well that works out." Mimori said. "We should take the kids home first, and then we can meet back up at the theater."

The conversation continued, but Kazuma didn't hear a word of it. He was filled with the kind of determination that usually accompanied his getting ready to destroy an enemy. But this time, he needed that determination just to get three little words out. He was going to need some luck, too.

.

'Luck is finally on my side.' Kazuma thought. He was sitting in one of the rocking chairs on the front porch, watching the snow drift gently down in the soft glow of the Christmas lights that surrounded the kitchen window. He and Kanami had spent the better part of an hour out here, talking about any and everything. Even though they had already talked about most of it over the phone, it was still good to just sit and talk about her classes, what the campus was like, the new friends she'd made, and what the mainland was like in general. Right now, she was inside, whipping up some hot chocolate. Not from a mix or anything, she was making it from scratch. Damn, she was a good cook. Kazuma turned his head as the front door opened.

"Here you go, Kazu-kun." She handed him a warm mug topped with whipped cream. Freshly made whipped cream, he realized, not from a can. He knew they had a can of whipped cream in the fridge, along with a couple different kinds of frosting. Sometimes dessert made up more than half of what he and Cougar ate in a day.

"Thanks, Kanami." He took a very cautious sip, letting the liquid filter through the whipped cream first to cool it down a little. "Amazing. This beats the hell out of the instant stuff." Kanami smiled as she sat down next to him. "You're a fantastic cook, Kanami. I promise I won't give you any grief about that anymore."

"Well, there's one area at least where I can stop trying to impress you." She said as she took a sip.

"You don't have to impress me, Kanami." Kazuma smiled. "I'm already impressed."

Now she lowered the mug. "How so?"

"Well, let's see." Kazuma raised his fingers one by one as he ran down the list. "You're more well adjusted than me, your alter is more powerful than mine, you're far more selfless, you're much braver than I am, and now, you're more well traveled too."

"You think I'm braver than you are? I don't think so Kazu-kun." 'Or else I could tell you how much I want to kiss you right now...'

"Oh, you are." He nodded. "Maybe you just don't know it yet." They sat and drank their hot chocolate for a few minutes, enjoying each other's company, not saying a word. Kazuma would have been content to sit there for another hour, but there was a nagging in the back of his mind. 'Movies don't last forever.' He reminded himself. Cougar wasn't going to let him have the house to himself ALL night. And if things turned out the way he hoped, he didn't want the van pulling up in the driveway three minutes later. 'It's time.' He thought to himself. 'Far past time, actually.' He drained the last of his hot chocolate, then set the mug down on the porch, and made a fist.

Kanami recognized the creaking of Kazuma's glove as signifying that he had just made some sort of decision. A decision that apparently required a fair amount of courage on his part. But she refused to let herself get her hopes up about what it might be. "I left out one other thing I'm impressed by." Kazuma's voice sounded loud as it broke the silence, but she realized he was actually speaking very softly. He got up out of the rocking chair and sat down on the porch railing, directly across from her, their knees almost touching. "How impossibly beautiful you are." He smiled.

The butterflies in Kanami's stomach suddenly got very warm, but they were still there. "Did you just say... what I think you said?"

He nodded. "Kanami, I..." He paused, to give his cell phone a chance to ring, to see if the van was about to come around the corner, to see if maybe some of her high school friends were about to pull up in the driveway. Nothing. Good. "I love you."

Kanami's hopes were rocketing skyward now, whether she wanted them to or not. She did.

"I love you as more than just a surrogate sister, more than just a best friend. I love you in every way, but especially in the way that makes me very glad we're not actually related. The way that's made being apart from you for three months pure agony."

Kazuma's arms were solidly planted on the railing, but they were trembling, she realized. She also realized that her friends had been right, that he was afraid of the same things she was. As the silence stretched on, a rather desperate look appeared on his face.

"Um... Now would be a good time for you to say something." He tried to smile, but failed. 'Oh God I was wrong I was wrong she doesn't feel the same way and now I just fucked everything up and she's trying to think of how to let me down and FUCK!!'

Kanami slowly stood up, feeling very unsteady on her feet. "Kazu-kun..." She took a step forward, and put her hands on his shoulders. "Why did you keep me waiting so long?" She slid her arms down around his torso, then wrapped him up in a hug tight enough to push some of the air out of his lungs, resting her head on his collarbone, just under his chin. "Of course I love you too, you big dummy. I always have."

Kazuma let out a long, ragged sigh of relief before he returned the hug, bringing his chin down until it rested on top of her head. "I think I may have had a small heart attack during that silence." He said. "I'm fine now though. That hug got it beating again." He relaxed his death grip around Kanami's shoulders somewhat, enough so that he could look her in the eyes, tilt his head to the side, and-

"Oh no you don't." Kanami reached up with her right hand and pinched his lips shut. It had taken an enormous amount of willpower to stop him, and she was blushing so furiously she could feel the heat radiating off her cheeks, but she still couldn't help but laugh at the completely baffled expression on his face. "I'm not kissing you until you answer my question."

"Question? What question?" He asked very comically, considering she was still holding his lips shut.

It took her a second to remember it herself, since her brain was overflowing with thoughts like, 'Kazu-kun loves me back! Yaaaaaaay!!', but her smile dimmed as she reminded him, "Why did you keep me waiting so long? How long have you felt this way, anyway?"

"Honestly?" Kazuma sounded nervous again.

"That would be good, yes." She nodded.

"About three years." He cringed, clearly expecting her to be unhappy about that.

"Three years?!" She pounded her fists on his shoulders. "Damn it Kazu-kun! So you weren't mad at me for what I did that one night!"

"Of course not." He smiled, albeit a bit warily. "I really did think you were too young. Are you really, honestly mad that I waited until you were older?"

She tried to keep an irritated expression on her face, but ended up looking away from him as she couldn't stop a smile from appearing. "No. You were just worried about me, like you always worry about me." Then, her eyes left the snow to focus on his face again. "Wait a second... That's it, isn't it?"

"What's it?" Kazuma raised an eyebrow.

She walked forward and enfolded him in the hug again, much to his surprise. "You made up your mind a long time ago, that you were going to protect me, no matter what. You decided that you were going to protect me from any and everything... including yourself, if that's what it came down to." Kazuma didn't say a word. "That is it, isn't it?" She tilted her head back to look him in the eye. "You feel guilty, don't you?"

"SO guilty." Kazuma smiled. "I feel like a dirty, dirty old man. I'm supposed to be the responsible one. The one you count on! I'm not supposed to have thoughts like this, and I'm sure as hell not supposed to act on them if I do." Kanami started to open her mouth to say something, but he continued before she could. "But, over the last three years, I've grown less and less concerned with what I'm supposed to do. My feelings haven't changed, except to get even stronger." Now, he started to tilt his head down again. "And, since you seem to be so good at knowing what I'm thinking, even without your alter, I bet you can guess what I'm thinking now."

Kanami leaned a bit closer to him. "Something along the lines of 'I wonder what that lip gloss she's wearing tastes like'." She grinned.

"Close." Kazuma's grin turned a bit devious as he brought his head down. Now their lips were only about six inches apart. "But I've tasted it once before."

"Mm-mm." She leaned forward a little more. "This is a different kind."

"Is that so?" He asked. Their lips were only about three inches apart now, and he closed his eyes. "Well then I guess I'll just have to..." Kanami felt chills running down her spine as she felt his breath on her own lips. "Find out for myself." Kazuma whispered, and "myself" turned into an indistinct mumble as he closed the distance completely. Kanami let out a noise that was somewhere between a whimper and a moan as they finally shared their third kiss, one that had been entirely too long in coming. Kazuma reached up with his right hand and caressed her cheek as the world became, for the moment at least, perfect.


	7. A Few Firsts

**Christmas In The Lost Ground**

**Chapter 7: A Few Firsts**

By Nanaki

_"I've been having a dream, for the longest time now... And it just came true."_ - Kanami Yuta, right now

* * *

'So this is what love REALLY feels like.' Kazuma thought to himself. 'My heart feels like it's about to explode! I can hardly breathe! Somehow... somehow I didn't think it would actually turn out this way.' He realized. 'But this is real. I'm really here, holding her in my arms... and she feels the same way! This, is the best day of my life!'

'Oh Kazu-kun... My Kazu-kun... He really IS my Kazu-kun now!' Kanami realized. 'I guess, somehow, I didn't think it would really turn out this way. But he's really here! Holding me... Kissing me... It feels like there's heat coming from everywhere on my body, especially the top and bottom... and I get to feel like this all the time now!'

They broke apart slowly, more because they needed to come up for air than because either one wanted to stop. Each could feel the heavy breathing of the other, and Kazuma paused for a second to look into her eyes before he pulled her to his chest again. "Kanami... For so long, I've wanted to hold you like this..."

She snuggled up against his shoulder again. "Well, actually, you have been pretty huggy since I got back."

He couldn't help but smile at that. "Yeah, but it's different when you know WHY."

"I know." She let out a long sigh as they stood there, gently rocking back and forth in each others' arms. "Everything is going to be different now. But..." She pulled back to look into his eyes now, "As long as I'm with you, I'm not scared."

"Wow." Kazuma's smile broadened. "That takes the number one spot on my list of best things anyone has ever said to me. And the previous number one was something you said too."

"Aren't they pretty much all something I said?" She grinned.

"Well, yeah. I suppose so." That was close enough to the truth to not feel like a lie, anyway.

She let her head rest on his shoulder again, and he felt a shiver run through her body. "Would this be a bad time to tell you that I'm freezing my butt off?"

A short laugh escaped through Kazuma's nose. "Yes, but not as bad a time as it would have been a minute ago. It's definitely gotten colder since we've been out here. Let's go in." With that, they reluctantly separated, though Kazuma kept hold of Kanami's right hand in his left. He opened the door, then gestured for her to go in first.

"Hey, when you're in love, you don't have to remember how to open doors anymore!" A rather Cougar-like smirk appeared on her face. "And to think of all that time I wasted learning! Those two years at Turn and Pull Tech, that summer session at Hinge Forest..."

"Smartass." Kazuma complained, then gently shoved her inside.

"Better than being a dumbass." She countered. It was far from the first time that she'd said it. "In case you couldn't tell," She began taking her coat off, "I'm cracking jokes because I'm more than a little nervous."

"Well, me too." Kazuma admitted as he started taking his own coat off. "But what are we nervous about, anyway?"

"Well, for starters..." Kanami felt the red in her cheeks growing even hotter as she hung her coat up, "What you're probably capable of doing with that incredibly dexterous right hand of yours."

Kazuma froze in place, looking like a deer caught in the headlights, his coat halfway on the hanger.

"Um... That was another joke, Kazu-kun. Though maybe a bit more on topic than the others..."

Kazuma shook his head and blinked, almost as if he'd only imagined what he'd just heard. "Anyway..." He took a while hanging up his coat before he turned back to her. "You don't have anything to be nervous about, Kanami. You know I'd never do anything to make you uncomfortable."

"Well..." She shifted from foot to foot uneasily, looking down at the floor now. "The thing is... For you, maybe I'd be willing to put up with some uncomfortable." The look of pure surprise on his face caught her off guard, until she looked at what she'd just said from a GUY'S perspective. She couldn't help but let out a nervous laugh as she realized how he'd probably taken that. "What I'm trying to say, Kazu-kun, is that it's okay."

"What is?" He sounded nervous as hell as his powers of speech finally returned.

"Everything." She shrugged. "All those thoughts racing through your head..." She reached up and put a hand on his cheek. "All those thoughts you feel guilty about having... It's okay."

"That would be music to any guy's ears." The smile returned to his face.

"It's also understandable that we'd be nervous about this, after we've both spent so much self control trying to keep this from happening."

"But we don't have time to be nervous, is that what you're saying?" Kazuma guessed.

"Right." Kanami nodded. "I'm only going to be here for another ten days, and then I have to go back..." She stared at the floor for a few seconds, and when she looked up again, there were tears in her eyes. "It's not fair. We've only just admitted our feelings, and I'll have to leave again in no time."

Kazuma nodded. "Well, supposedly. But we can talk about it. Let's sit down." He took her hand again and led her into the living room, then realized that there weren't really any pieces of furniture designed for two, other than the couch. But the couch had not brought him the best of luck... That's when he spied the mattress kind of pushed off into the corner, partly under the Christmas tree. He reached down to pull it more into the center of the room. "Well, looks like I'll get some use out of this after all." He remarked, then stiffened at the same time Kanami did. "Um... That came out wrong." He assured her as he stood back up.

She smiled at that. "I trust you, Kazu-kun." Was all she said in response.

He plugged in the Christmas tree while she turned on the lamp, then they both took their shoes off. Kazuma grabbed a pillow off the couch, then laid down on the left side of the mattress. Kanami laid down on the right, then threw her right arm across his chest, her right leg curling over his. Kazuma wriggled his right arm around her shoulders, until she was using his chest for a pillow, and he was gently rubbing her back. "Mmm..." Kanami let out a soft moan of what Kazuma assumed was contentment, and he silently agreed. They stayed like that, nearly motionless, for several minutes before Kanami sighed. "All right, we might as well get our first potential fight out of the way. Kazu-kun, what do you want me to do?"

Kazuma was dying to misenterpret that, but he knew what she meant. "What I want you to do and what you should do are probably two different things." He admitted.

"Well, start with what you want." She suggested, giving him a little squeeze.

"What I want..." He sighed. "Of course I want you to stay here with me. I don't want you to go back to the mainland, because I can't go with you. You know you don't NEED to go to college, right? You know I'll always take care of you."

"And yet, you didn't say that with much enthusiasm." She observed.

"I know." He sighed again. "It's not about need. I know you want to keep going to school, and you absolutely deserve to. You spent most of your childhood working crappy minimum wage jobs a trained monkey could do, and you didn't get to go to school at all until the LGDF restored a little bit of social order to the island."

"Yes, I want to keep going." She admitted. "But I also want to stay with you."

"Well, no one says you have to decide anything right now." Kazuma resumed stroking her back. "I'm content to just lay here, and enjoy this once in a lifetime evening."

"You know, you ARE my hero, Kazu-kun." Kanami smiled. "I've never felt more safe than I do right here, right now." She slid up a little on the mattress, and tilted her head down toward his again.

"Same here." Kazuma smiled, then made further speech impossible. There was no more talking for quite a while, just two very lonely hearts finally getting a little of what they'd both been craving for ages on end. Suddenly, Kanami stiffened a little, and Kazuma only then fully realized that his right hand was up under her sweater and starting to probe at her bra strap. "Um... I didn't mean to..." The look on Kanami's face was hard to place, but she didn't seem mad, at least.

"Kazu-kun..." Her voice came out in a whisper.

"Uh, sorry." He pulled his right hand back into the open air. "I guess I better-"

"The light..." She said in the same whisper. "Turn it out..."

The smile quickly came back to Kazuma's face. "Oh." His voice dropped to a whisper too. "Okay."

.

It was after two in the morning when Cougar and Melissa trudged up the steps to the front porch. Cougar had parked out in the street, since the driveway was still full of craters. "Ugh..." Melissa shivered. "I never should've let you talk me into that second movie."

"Yeah, sorry." Cougar shrugged. "It was a lot gorier than I was expecting, I'll admit. I mainly just wanted to give the lovebirds more time to themselves." With that, he stopped a few feet short of the door and started looking around. "You're not one for scary movies, huh?"

"I don't mind scary, but gratuitous disemboweling is a whole other matter. Who actually WANTS to see something like that?" Melissa grimaced.

"Yeah, I'll admit that if you take away the scare factor, most gory movies just plain suck." Cougar admitted as he walked over to one of the rocking chairs and looked at something at the base of it. "If a movie is bloody and GOOD, it usually falls more in the 'suspense' category."

"And a movie doesn't have to be gory to be scary. Did you ever see the original 'Psycho'?"

Cougar smiled. "Oh, Hitchcock was a master, absolutely. The first time I saw that movie, I was sixteen, watching with about ten friends during a bright, sunny afternoon, and even so, when Norman charged in dressed as his mother, with the knife held high, it scared the crap out of me."

"Exactly! And did you ever see anything by M. Night Shyamalan?"

"Everything, I think." Cougar looked out at the road now. "'The Sixth Sense' was overrated and 'Unbreakable' was way too much to go through just for the shock at the end, but from 'Signs' on, everything he did was brilliant."

Melissa was smiling now. "The first time I saw 'Signs', I was five, watching alone at night, while my parents were off in the office doing taxes, or something. I was so petrified that I peed my pants instead of getting up to go to the bathroom, because I would have had to walk past a couple dark windows that didn't have any curtains." They both laughed at this, and Melissa started to open the door, until she realized that Cougar wasn't following. "What are you looking at, anyway?"

"An important clue, I think." Cougar nodded at the deck.

Looking closer, Melissa saw a coffee mug sitting next to the base of the rocking chair. "A coffee cup? How is that a clue?"

Cougar's trademark smirk appeared on his face. "Normally, Kanami would never leave anything sitting outside like this, so something unusual must have happened."

"Something unusual? Like what?"

"Like Kazuma finally telling her what everyone else figured out a long time ago."

"One can only hope." Melissa shrugged. "But after his pathetic track record so far, I wouldn't bet on it."

Cougar finally walked over to the door. "Well, let's be quiet when we go in, just in case." He slowly turned the nob, and stepped inside with quiet footsteps that belied his size and distinctly un-stealthy mannerisms. Melissa did her best to stay quiet, as well. The Christmas lights in the kitchen window were on, but nothing else was. Cougar slowly padded into the living room, and saw the Christmas tree was the only light source in there. One of the space heaters was whirring close to the mattress, which was now sprawled out in the middle of the room, with Kazuma and Kanami entwined right in the middle of it. Cougar turned to Melissa with a raised eyebrow, then turned back. He had thought they were both asleep, but suddenly Kazuma's eyes fluttered open. It seemed to take him a moment to recognize Cougar with the upside down perspective, but when he did, his free left hand shot up in a thumbs up. "Well, good night finally?" Cougar whispered.

"The best night of my life." Kazuma whispered back, even softer.

"How long have you just been lying there?" Cougar wondered.

"I have no idea." Kazuma just kept smiling, his eyes going back to the tree. "What time is it?"

"A little after two." Cougar said.

"About three hours then. Kanami fell asleep about eleven, I think. I really don't know. Time has ceased to have any meaning." Kazuma started to rub her back again, but she remained fast asleep.

Cougar smiled, and didn't smirk, which was rare. "Well then, we'll leave you two alone." Kazuma didn't say anything else. He just kept idly stroking Kanami's back, while staring at the tree. Cougar and Melissa tiptoed up the stairs. "Well, that's about the most docile I've ever seen him." Cougar said when they reached the top. "Better enjoy it while it lasts."

"Oh, all guys are like that." Melissa shrugged. "They alternate between wanting to smash things and being romantic so fast it boggles the mind."

Cougar's smirk was back. "It all qualifies as macho behavior. Though of course, the great irony of macho behavior is that women are hardly ever impressed by it."

"Glad you realize it." Melissa smiled. "Of course, most of what women do to try to attract men is completely lost on them."

"Not most, I wouldn't say." Cougar shook his head. "But a fair amount, yeah. Like nail polish, for one. So your nails are a different color; what the hell difference does that make? Or exfoliating. What on God's green Earth is 'exfoliating', and why should I give a rat's ass? Oh, it removes dead skin? Well, if dead skin didn't naturally fall off your body anyway, that might mean something."

"That was quite a rant." Melissa observed.

"Yeah well, get used to it." Cougar shrugged. "That is, if you plan on visiting again sometime."

"Hey, I've still got ten more days here. That's plenty of time to have to get used to you. And on that note, kind of, how is it that you're not married?"

Cougar's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "That's kind of out of the blue."

Melissa shrugged. "Maybe, but I've been wondering. You're the second alter user ever recorded, and the first recorded died a long time ago, so that makes you the oldest known. You're arguably just as powerful as Kazuma and Ryuho, and definitely just as famous. Plus, you've apparently got plenty of money, and if you get any more charming, you're going to explode from so many charm rays concentrated into such a small area. So, what's the deal?"

Cougar's smile disappeared. "I've been in love three times, and it just hasn't worked out. So for the last six years, I've just been taking it easy, trying not to think much about women. Which is completely impossible, of course, but I try anyway."

"I know what it's like to get your heart stomped on, but why cut yourself off completely?" She wondered.

"I'd really been rushing through my life up until the battle with Mujo, so after I survived that, I decided to just sit back and relax for a while. I didn't really have much choice anyway, since it took me about a year to completely recover from that fight."

"You didn't answer my question." Melissa pointed out.

Cougar sighed. "Fine. You may know how it feels to get your heart stomped on, but I doubt you know how it feels to watch someone you love die because you weren't strong enough to save them." Cougar just glared at where his hand was resting on the railing above the stairs.

Melissa's mouth worked for a few seconds, before some sound managed to come out. "I- I'm sorry. I just-"

"Forget it, forget it." Cougar took his hand off the railing and tried to wave the tension aside. "Never mind. You didn't know. Let's just forget about it, okay? See you in the morning." With that, he headed down the hallway to his room, and shut the door a little bit too hard.

.

Cougar turned the light on and stared at his clock for a second, before turning around and letting his head smack into the door. 'Cougar, you idiot!' He yelled at himself. 'The hottest girl you've seen in a long time was trying to flirt with you, and you yelled at her and walked away? What the hell was that?!'

He raised his head again, thinking. 'No, wait, WAS that flirting? Maybe she just wants to know more about the Lost Ground, and Kanami's friends in particular.' But then he remembered her line, "If you get any more charming, you're going to explode from so many charm rays concentrated into such a small area." 'Yeah, that was flirting.' He sighed, then plopped down onto his bed.

'Oh well.' He shrugged. 'She's nine years younger than me, and she's leaving in ten days. Plus, she's probably too uptight for my taste anyway. Yeah.' He almost smiled, but he hadn't quite convinced himself. 'Uh, right brain?'

'Oh, you don't wanna know what I really think.' He imagined his brain smirking at the rest of himself. 'Just go to sleep already.'

.

'Stupid Melissa!' She yelled at herself, back in Kanami's room. 'Stupid, stupid, stupid! They all warned you he was shrewd!' She was pacing back and forth, as quietly as possible. 'You've gotta transition into it slowly! You can't just come on to him like he's some drunken frat guy!'

She collapsed onto Kanami's bed, sighing deeply, and wondered if she'd given herself away. Probably not, or she doubted that she would still be alive right now. Cougar had seemed the most likely prospect out of the Lost Ground's top three, but now she found herself wondering if that had been such a wise choice after all. Ryuho was definitely out, and probably would have been an exceedingly tough target to bring in, even if he had been single. On paper, Kazuma looked like he'd be the easiest, and she had even started laying a foundation with him, but it was painfully obvious that he was completely devoted to Kanami. So, Cougar was the only real choice left. But, she was going to have to be a lot more careful.

Then there was Kanami... Melissa liked to think that she and Kanami were actual friends, but now that she'd seen what Kanami's alter could do, it scared the crap out of her. If Kanami could actually look inside people's minds... Well, she would just have to make sure she didn't give Kanami a reason to look into her mind, that was all.

At that moment, her cell phone started vibrating. She frowned as she pulled it out of her pocket, wondering who would be calling this late. She frowned more deeply as she looked at the Caller ID, and almost didn't answer. That would be a very bad idea, though. "What?" She hissed as she thumbed the "answer" button.

"We haven't heard anything yet, and we were getting kind of worried." A calm voice replied from the other end.

"I told you I would call when I was sure it was safe! What's so complicated about that?" She demanded, albeit quietly.

"It's just that we monitored a LOT of action on the island yesterday, and we were kind of hoping for some details..."

"Well, hope springs eternal." She let the sarcasm drip into her voice. "I'll give you all the details when I'M sure it's safe! Now, I'm hanging up before this call gets traced!"

"At least tell us-"

"Bye!" She cut the connection, then put a hand over her eyes. It had only been two days, and they were already getting impatient. Hanging up on them had not been a terribly smart move, but then, neither had calling her in the first place. Plus, even SHE knew that it wasn't smart to bully a double agent. What made her handler think he could get away with it, she had no idea. She looked over at the clock, then sighed. It was already late, but she doubted she would be getting any sleep for a while yet...

.

Downstairs, Kanami didn't open her eyes or move around, but she did wake up. She was pleased to find Kazuma was still slowly rubbing her back, but in a way that suggested he was finally drifting toward sleep himself. For a moment, she wasn't sure what had woken her up, but then she detected a large amount of agitation coming from upstairs. 'So, it begins already, does it Melissa?' She let out a very soft sigh through her nose, that Kazuma didn't seem to notice. 'Whatever game you're playing, if you ruin my time with Kazu-kun, I'll never forgive you.' Kanami tried to summon up some righteous anger, but it was pretty hard with the man she loved still rubbing her back. She was asleep again in under a minute.


	8. They're Up to Something

**Christmas in the Lost Ground**

**Chapter 8: They're Up to Something**

By Nanaki

Kanami awoke to find the warm light of the Christmas tree still glowing behind her, and a faint grey light was filtering into the living room from the kitchen. She remained motionless for a few minutes, enjoying the soft rhythm of Kazuma's slow breathing as he slept, plus his heartbeat, which was easy to hear with her left ear resting on his chest. Ideally, she would have waited there until he woke up, but as she became more alert, she realized that he would probably be asleep for a few more hours, and she really needed to use the bathroom.

Lifting her head up, she was surprised to realize that she had left a rather copious amount of drool on Kazuma's chest. "Well, I think we got over the nervous part." She said very softly as she wiped the saliva off her cheek. 'That's probably the understatement of the year.' She admitted to herself as she reached back and adjusted, then re-fastened her bra. She could tell that Kazuma really hadn't intended for things to go so far, so fast. But his touch had set her on fire, and so had the adorable blush that filled his face. Knowing that she had the same effect on him that he did on her was a heady feeling, and she really hadn't cared that they'd only technically been a couple for about a half hour. Besides, they'd already been living together for ten years. How much longer should they have to wait?

Not very much longer at all, Kanami realized, a rather devious grin lighting up her face. She'd been wanting to become one with him since before she'd known exactly what that would entail. When she had found out, when she was ten, she'd found the basic concept rather repulsive and embarrassing. Except when she'd added her Kazu-kun to the way she pictured the concept, then it didn't seem unappealing at all. "I've loved you for so long, Kazu-kun." She whispered, running a hand slowly down his right arm. "And I always will." She leaned down to give him a quick kiss on the cheek. "But now, it's my turn to take care of you. I need to go pick something up... Hopefully, I'll be back before you wake up."

She stood up, then, figuring Kazuma would get cold without her body heat on top of his, went to the hall closet and found a blanket. Probably the same blanket he had covered her with on the couch her last night at home, she realized. As she gently spread the blanket out over him, she heard him mumbling something in his sleep. "Kanami... This isn't gonna work..."

"Huh?" Kanami raised an eyebrow, then against her better judgment, asked very softly, "What's not going to work, Kazu-kun?"

"The van's shot..." Kazuma mumbled. "We're gonna have to take the hovercraft to our wedding..."

A huge grin lit up Kanami's face. "Heh. Fine with me, Kazu-kun." She finished tucking him in, then headed upstairs to the shower. She was going to have to hurry. She needed to get to Ryuho's and back before Kazuma woke up, because what she was going to be sneaking into the house, she definitely did not want him to see. Not yet, anyway.

.

As Kanami turned down the driveway leading to the Tairen Manor, she was surprised to see the presidential limousine parked in front of the door, with several secret service agents patrolling outside. This, she did not need. She had hoped not to even run into Ryuho, if she could avoid it. But, there was no getting around it. She parked the van a safe distance up the drive, then walked slowly up to the porch, hands visible the whole time. "Name and ID, please." Two of the agents walked forward, to block her path if need be.

'You know who I am,' she thought at them, irritated. But she knew they were just following procedure. She pulled out her Lost Ground driver's license, and tapped her foot impatiently while the agents frowned at it for what seemed like an inordinately long time. "Something the matter?" She finally asked.

"No, not at all." The agent who was holding her license finally handed it back, his expression not changing. "You're on the guest list for today, we just weren't expecting you so early."

"Last minute change in plans." Kanami shrugged. "I won't be staying too long." She brushed past them, closing the door softly as she went inside. Several voices could be heard coming from the dining room, and her hopes of catching Mimori away from everyone else were quickly dashed. So, she simply walked into the dining room, figuring she was going to lose at least twenty minutes talking.

"Kanami! Well, good morning." Ryuho was the first to notice her, which wasn't a surprise. He always noticed everything, which was just one of the reasons he was the leader of the LGDF. "We weren't expecting to see you so soon."

"There's been a little change in plans." Kanami smiled and waved at everyone. Everyone nodded politely back, except for Scheris, who waved until Kanami was worried her hand would fall off, and Hiryu, who was seated in a high chair, obliviously covering himself in applesauce.

Seated at the opposite end of the table from Ryuho, President Zi Ongola stood up and came forward to give Kanami a quick hug. "Kanami, sorry I wasn't there to meet you at the airport when you got in. Duty calls, and all that."

"Hey, don't worry about it." Kanami shrugged. "Actually, the reason I'm here is because I needed to let you guys know that I don't think Kazuma and I will be making it over here tonight. Well, that," she looked pointedly at Mimori, "and I need to pick up that one thing I left here." Mimori looked puzzled for a second, so Kanami elaborated. "You know, that package I stashed away when I was sixteen?" Mimori's eyebrows shot up in surprise.

"Goodness," Tadanori Kiryu spoke up, "Don't tell me Ryuho's sending you out on a mission on Christmas Eve!" He was clearly kidding, though Mrs. Kiryu glared at Ryuho as though she thought that was entirely possible.

"No, no." Ryuho laughed. "Kanami's not a member of the LGDF. Though if she DID want to join up, she'd probably give the Elians a run for their money." Kanami just rolled her eyes. They'd had this discussion more than once. "Nothing's wrong, I hope?" He asked.

"No, not at all." Kanami replied, and a rather devious looking grin appeared on her face that Ryuho and Mimori both found very uncharacteristic. "Something is very, very RIGHT."

Everyone at the table looked puzzled, except Ryuho and Mimori. "Well then," Mimori stood up, smiling, "I'm sure you're anxious to get back. Let's get your package so you can be on your way."

'Yes! Oh, thank God for Mimori.' Kanami thought to herself. "Don't worry guys, we'll be here for Christmas morning." She assured the puzzled looking faces around the table. "Although, I don't know how early..."

Ryuho snickered. "Kanami, don't let him keep you up TOO late." Then, without looking, Ryuho held up a hand to block an incoming blob of applesauce that Hiryu had just launched at him. "Nice try, son. But you'll have to be quicker than that."

Kanami chuckled, then quickly went after Mimori, who was already heading upstairs. "Oh, what was that about?" Kanami could hear Tadanori Kiryu's voice back in the dining room.

Ryuho chuckled again. "How much time do you want to spend hearing about it, sir?"

"Ah, I see." Mr. Kiryu nodded. "One of THOSE situations."

"Yes indeed." Ryuho went back to his breakfast. "One of those."

.

Mimori pulled down the retractable stairs that led up to the attic, and waved away the dust that drifted down into the hallway. "Boy, when I said to hide it in a safe place, you didn't kid around, did you?" Kanami smiled.

"Of course not." Mimori assured her. "And for a while, I kept my promise not to look inside either."

Kanami blushed a little. "So, you know what's in there, huh?"

"Well, I'm pretty sure Ryuho found it before I looked." Kanami's blush deepened. "Because for the longest time, it seemed like I wasn't doing something in the bedroom that he expected me to do. And, without going into too much detail, that is NOT something that he should have been thinking." Mimori blushed a little now, too. "So, once I took a look in the package and got myself a similar outfit, that look of puzzlement disappeared."

Kanami put a hand to her forehead. "Hoo boy. Sorry to cause you so much trouble."

"Oh, don't be." Mimori waved that concern aside. "It was very enjoyable trouble." She began to climb up to the attic, squinting against the gloom. "I just don't know why he thought the one in the package would fit me. You and I aren't exactly body doubles."

"Well, something tells me Ryuho isn't exactly an expert on women's clothing." Kanami reasoned. "Come to think of it, I hope it still fits ME. It should, though. I've only grown about half an inch since I got it."

Mimori found the light switch, then began to head over to a corner of the attic that was still fairly dark, even with the light on. Before she got there though, she turned back to Kanami. "Kanami, you're going to think this is a stupid question, I'm sure. But, are you SURE you're ready?"

Kanami stopped in her tracks, and really did think about it for a second, before she nodded. "Yes, I really am sure. I've been ready mentally since before I was even capable of being ready physically." Mimori's eyebrows went up in surprise. "Plus, I owe him a pleasant surprise. Last night, he was the one who put himself on the line, at the risk of being hurt, and told me how much he loved me. And he was the one who made me feel like there was no one else in the world but the two of us." Kanami's face went red again at the memory.

"Hmm..." Mimori was clearly thinking something over for a second, then she reached down and picked up Kanami's package from a low shelf. "Well, I know how much he cares about you. It's hard to imagine things will go TOO wrong."

"Wrong?" Kanami frowned as she took the package from Mimori. "What makes you think something will go wrong?"

Mimori looked thoughtful again for a moment, before replying. "Well, it seems like you have a pretty firm idea in your mind of how you want tonight to go. I just think that Kazuma's vision may be different from yours, that's all."

Kanami looked worried now. "You don't think he'd... he'd... I don't even know how to finish that sentence."

Mimori smiled gently. "There's no way on Earth he'll turn you down, Kanami. But he might try to talk you out of it. Be ready for that."

The smile returned to Kanami's face as she headed back toward the stairs. "I will be. I feel more 'ready for anything' than I've ever felt in my life."

.

Kanami was halfway back through the dining room when she realized that she DID need to talk to Ryuho. Well, she didn't need to, but he could help her plan go more smoothly. Kanami quietly sidled up to his chair, package tucked under her arm on the opposite side from him. "Hey, Ryu-kun, what time do you think you'll be eating dinner tonight?" She asked quietly.

"Hmm?" He looked up in surprise. "Around six, I imagine. Why?"

"I need to get Kazu-kun out of the house for at least ten minutes, so could you give him a call at five and have him come down to the HQ for a little bit? Tell him he forgot to sign some paperwork that needs to go in today, or something like that." Kanami shrugged.

Ryuho narrowed his eyes. "Kanami, if I drag him away from YOU for that, he's going to be seriously pissed off."

"SERIOUSLY pissed off!" Scheris echoed cheerfully, and Ryuho winced at the disapproving look that Mrs. Kiryu instantly shot his way.

"I know." Kanami smiled as she admitted it. "But I'll be sure to tell him later that it was just part of my plan."

Ryuho let out a long sigh. "All right, I'll do it. But if he..." Ryuho trailed off as he got a good look at the package Kanami was carrying. "Kanami, what are YOU doing with that package?"

"Huh? It's mine. Mimori was just holding it for me." She shrugged nonchalantly, hoping he'd shut up about it before everyone in the room started wondering what was in there.

"But... But I..." A blush more furious than any she'd ever seen on him was coloring his face now, and Kanami started to wonder just what he'd done to Mimori while she was wearing her version. Ryuho quickly looked away and brought his coffee cup up to his lips. "Be sure to wash that real good before you put it on, Kanami." He mumbled into the cup.

"The one I've got isn't the one from the package, genius." Mimori gently smacked him on the back of the head as she headed back to her seat, and Ryuho made a sputtering sound as coffee went up his nose. "I think you'd better get going, Kanami." She suggested as she sat back down.

"Right you are." Kanami laughed. "Merry Christmas Eve, everybody. See you tomorrow."

.

"Kanami?" Kazuma awoke with a start, sitting up before his eyes were even open. "Kanami?!" He felt around the empty mattress next to him, his heart racing with panic for a moment as he wondered if last night had all been a dream, and he actually hadn't told her anything yet. But then the fog of sleep faded, and memories came flooding back. "Thank God..." He breathed out in a low voice, then threw the blanket back off the mattress. For a minute, he tried to banish the dream he'd been having, plus the sudden panic, and just focus on the memories. He found himself staring at his hands, recalling how warm to the touch Kanami's skin was. "Oh, the things these hands have done..." He whispered, a smile on his face now. Last night, he never would have guessed that this morning, he'd be waking up in a world where he'd caressed Kanami's-

"Problem?" Kazuma looked up to see Cougar standing in the entrance to the kitchen, a cup of coffee in hand.

"Just one stupid-ass dream." Kazuma groaned, hearing joints pop as he got to his feet.

"Huh." Cougar responded simply, knowing that he was about to hear more about the dream, whether he wanted to or not.

"She left me, Cougar! She left me for some smarmy-ass graduate student with retarded retro-60s glasses and a fancy car! What the hell was that?!" Kazuma fumed.

"Oh please." Cougar shook his head. "You don't have to be a trained psychologist to see what's going on there." He calmly took a sip of coffee.

"Well, what's going on there then?" Kazuma demanded.

Cougar raised an eyebrow. "But apparently you do have to be smarter than YOU. It's a basic anxiety dream. You're worried that you won't be able to make her happy. On some level, you think that you're not good enough for her. Which you're not, by the way." Cougar flashed a toothy smile for a second, before continuing. "But I know that she doesn't care."

"Crap." Kazuma clenched his fist. "Stupid subconscious. This should be the best morning of my life."

"Oh, I have a feeling it'll be a pretty good day for you." Cougar turned around and went back into the kitchen.

"Where is Kanami, anyway?" Kazuma followed him into the kitchen, and opened the freezer, trying to decide what he wanted for breakfast.

"I have no idea." Cougar shrugged. "But I imagine she headed out early to take care of a few things before she spends all day wasting time with you. Well, speak of the devil." Cougar said as he sat down at the table, and saw the van heading up the street, back to the house.

.

Kanami was heading up the porch steps when her cell phone rang, and she leaned against the porch railing as she answered it. "Elian? What's up?"

"I'm sorry to say your hunch was right, Kanami." The calm, deep voice of the eldest Elian replied. "There was a very brief call made from the mainland to a cell phone in your house at about 2:30 a.m. this morning. Unfortunately, it was so brief that even I can't get a fix on exactly where it originated."

"Well, crud." Kanami said simply. "We're going to have to wait until next time then."

"You don't want to do anything yet?" Elian sounded surprised.

"It could be innocent." Kanami shrugged. "Though why Melissa's parents would be calling in the middle of the night, I can't imagine. It might be a boyfriend she hasn't told me about, though. And even if we knew for sure that the call came from Japanese intelligence or the Alter Breeding Project, I'd still want to wait."

"To lull whoever it is into a false sense of security, I assume?" Elian wondered.

"You assume correctly." Kanami said, then looked up as the front door opened. "Gotta go. Lemme know if anything else comes up." She clicked her phone off, then flipped it shut and put it back in her pocket in one fluid motion.

"Everything okay?" Kazuma asked as he walked up to stand right in front of her.

"Everything is GREAT." Kanami stood up and threw her arms around him, nuzzling her head against his shoulder.

"Well, good morning." Kazuma smiled. He felt his heart rate speed up as he wrapped his arms around her shoulders. "I missed you already. You know, we've got to put a stop to your habit of being gone when I wake up."

Kanami laughed little. "It was the last time, Kazu-kun. I promise." Then she looked up at him. "So, what do you want to do today?"

She was surprised to hear him let out a sigh. "I actually have to go in to work at ten."

"You do?" She frowned in puzzlement. "I thought your schedule was open."

"Oh, that was a complete lie." He smiled. "But, by volunteering today, I only have to work one more day between now and New Year's."

"Well, good." She said, but her frown of puzzlement didn't disappear. "What time do you get off?"

"Six." He answered easily, and for some reason she couldn't really pinpoint, she was pretty sure that he was lying. But, that would work pretty well for her plan, so she didn't call him on it.

"All right. So, what do you want for breakfast?" She started leading him back into the house.

"You don't have to make me breakfast." He said, and Kanami stopped in her tracks. "What?"

"Jeez, where was that attitude when I was a kid?" She complained, then resumed her march to the kitchen. "Well, now I actually WANT to make you breakfast, so shut up and enjoy it!"

"Yes dear." He smiled. "So, how about French toast?"

"Is that all?" She raised an eyebrow.

"And sausage." He responded.

"And...?"

"And some orange juice, bacon, and two eggs over easy, but no powdered sugar; I don't need it. Well... A little powdered sugar." He finished as they walked back into the kitchen.

"Uh, hey." Cougar waved to get her attention. "Can I get in on this?"

Kanami was surprised again. "Well, I don't what's going on with this new policy of asking instead of demanding, but I like it."

Cougar smirked. "Well, I don't want to be completely forgotten while you're cooking meals for this idiot. Don't tell me HE'S actually being polite."

"Believe it or not, he is." Kanami replied as she began rummaging through the cupboards.

"Well, hey. Morning everybody." Melissa stepped into the kitchen, rubbing her eyes. "You guys are up uncharacteristically early."

"Had trouble sleeping." Kazuma and Cougar mumbled at the same time. Cougar simply went back to drinking his coffee, but Kazuma was staring at him with raised eyebrows. "Put your eyebrows back down, or I'll put 'em down for you." Cougar finally growled, and Kazuma laughed.

It turned out to be a very enjoyable breakfast, and Kanami almost forgot about the little nagging suspicion in the back of her mind. Almost, but not completely.

.

Cougar had some last minute Christmas shopping to do, or so he claimed. Kanami was pretty sure he hadn't done any shopping at all yet, but at any rate, he and Kazuma headed off to the city together in the van. As soon as it pulled away from the house, Kanami whipped her cell phone back out and instantly called Ryuho. He answered after just one ring. "Kanami? What's up?"

"Ryu-kun, do you have an LGDF shift schedule handy?"

"One second." Over the phone, she could hear him walking into another room, then shuffling through some papers. "Yeah, got it."

"Is Kazuma actually working today?"

"Huh, looks like it. I'm amazed he didn't just blow it off. Yeah, says here he volunteered to do one patrol today, in exchange for one of Urizane's days off between Christmas and New Year's." Ryuho reported.

"Wait, ONE patrol?" Kanami frowned. "As in, a four hour shift?"

"Yeah, that's right." Ryuho said, sounding amused. "Why?"

"That lying punk!" Kanami tried to sound angry, but couldn't help a smile from appearing on her face. "He's up to something."

"Yeah, and so are you." She could picture Ryuho's grin as he said it. "Do I even want to ask?"

"No, probably not." She laughed. "I guess you don't need to call him now. Thanks Ryuho. See you tomorrow."

"Glad I could help." He answered, sounding a bit puzzled now. "See you tomorrow."

Kanami put her phone away, then looked out the window, in the direction Kazuma had gone. "Kazu-kun... What are you planning?"

.

(Nanaki's note: I realize I kept you guys waiting for this chapter for a looong time. Sorry about that, but I just haven't felt like writing much lately. There was a time when I thought that I would actually have this story done by Christmas, but that time has passed. I do plan to have at least one more chapter done by then, so keep your eyes peeled. Anyway, I just wanted to take a moment here to respond to some of the reviews I've gotten so far.

Lofast: Yes, I certainly got the impression that Cougar died in the last episode, but it was very ambiguous. In my mind, if he didn't die during the fight with Mujo, there was no way in hell he was going to three months later. As for Evangelion, it's the most confusing mess of an anime I've ever seen, and I've seen Bo-bo-bo-bo-bo-bo-bo! I watched it twice, and don't plan to ever watch it again.

Retsoor: I would take potshots at Bush in every chapter of every story I ever wrote, if I could find a way to work it into the continuity. Most of the characters in my other stories have no knowledge of our Earth, but I have a feeling Levasos or Laria will eventually make a Bush reference in Tempo Trigger. That aside, thanks for the compliments! Rest assured, I have plans for keeping Kanami's insane powers under control.

Senorita Lucha: Unfortunately, I haven't drawn anything in close to ten years now, mainly because none of the places I've lived in my adult life have had a decent desk that I could use for drawing. I really can't just draw in a sketchbook on my lap. Anyway, Ryuho doesn't look all that different in my mind's eye. It's not a long, scraggly beard. He keeps it trimmed pretty short.

Thanks for the reviews, guys, and keep reading!)


	9. Space is the Place

**Christmas in the Lost Ground**

**Chapter 9: Space is the Place**

By Nanaki

_"I don't remember being this nervous in the dream."_ - Kanami Yuta, right now

* * *

Kanami looked herself over in the bathroom mirror for at least the tenth time in as many minutes, feeling more self-conscious than she ever had in her life. "You've been planning this for YEARS, and you want to chicken out now that it's actually happening?" She demanded of her reflection. This did nothing to calm her nerves, though.

At the time she'd bought the lacy black number she was now wearing, she had wondered if she was being too conservative in her choice. Now that she had actually put it on though, she was very glad she hadn't gone with anything more revealing. The black fabric was just transparent enough to inspire curiousity, but opaque enough to not reveal much in the way of details. As she saw in the mirror that she was nervously wringing her hands, she couldn't help but laugh at her own prudishness. 'He's going to get to see you wearing a lot less than this, and he's going to do more than just look.' She reminded herself. That thought too, did nothing to calm her down. She could feel the old butterflies fluttering around in her stomach yet again.

'What am I so afraid of?!' She demanded of herself. 'I want this. I really do.' She found herself staring into the eyes of her own reflection. 'I need to get away from this mirror.' She realized. She turned away, and went to sit down on the edge of the bathtub, which was colder than she had imagined possible. As she hugged herself, trying to warm up, and cursing the fact that neither bathroom in this house had a heat lamp, she focused on the memories from last night instead. After a few minutes remembering the taste of Kazuma's lips, and the feel of his strong arms wrapped around her, she felt quite a bit better. She also realized that it had to be close to six by now, and she still needed to decide on a hiding place.

She left the bathroom, pointedly ignoring the mirror, and padded softly down the stairs. She was just stepping down onto the ground floor when the TV started blaring. She froze for a second, not wanting to start off the evening by nagging Kazuma to turn the TV off. But when she turned toward the recliners, she found that the situation was far worse than that.

Cougar's thumb had to try to hit the mute button several times before he found it, but when he did, "Kanami! What the hell are you wearing?!"

"Eep!" Kanami quickly turned sideways and broke eye contact. "Not much," she replied. "What are you doing here?"

"What, can't a guy relax in his own house for a minute?" Cougar gestured at the TV.

"You're supposed to be at Ryuho's!" Now she did turn to face him again. "As you can probably tell, I need the house for just me and Kazuma for a while tonight!"

"Well, I hate to throw a wrench in your plan, but Kazuma told me to leave the van at the house tonight, so I'm pretty sure he's planning on taking you out somewhere." Cougar kept his eyes on the TV as he talked, then quickly glanced at Kanami again. "And for crying out loud, will you go put some clothes on?! You actually ARE like a little sister to me, you know! I don't want to see you wearing... that!"

"Okay, okay!" Kanami stomped back up the stairs, threw on some jeans and a sweater, then stomped back downstairs. "I need you out of here by six." She said as she plopped down in the recliner next to Cougar.

"I'll see what I can do." He said dryly, and Kanami knew that meant he wasn't going to do anything.

"Seriously! I had a hard enough time getting Melissa out of here by five. Isn't dinner being served at Ryuho's at six anyway?" She demanded.

"Nah, it got pushed back to 7:30, at least." Cougar replied. "Ryuho called me, and said that Mr. Kiryu had the bright idea of taking the turkey out of the oven without using any oven mitts, because it didn't feel hot at first. Guess how that turned out." Kanami couldn't help a smile from appearing on her face at that. "So now the Kiryus are driving around, looking for a restaurant that can sell them a turkey, ready to go."

"Well, I'm sorry I missed that." Kanami laughed. "But since Melissa's already over there, why don't you go keep her company? I wouldn't think you'd mind that duty much." She raised an eyebrow.

Cougar raised an eyebrow right back. "Just what are you implying?"

"Oh please," Kanami waved his protest aside. "Even I think she's hot." Cougar regarded her with wide-eyed surprise, but then slowly turned and just stared at the ceiling. "Uh, Cougar? You okay?"

"Just... Just a minute." Cougar held up a hand, closing his eyes. "Okay, I'm good now," he said about twenty seconds later. "You know, I think I should go keep Melissa company." He smiled, and stood up. "Oh, and Kanami, whatever Christmas present you may have gotten me is just gravy, because the mental picture you just gave me is the best present I could have asked for."

"Oh? I thought I actually was like a sister to you." Kanami pointed out.

Cougar's familiar smirk returned. "Yeah, but in my mind, I can just replace you with Lacus Clyne from the Gundam Seed trilogy. I swear, if you were an anime character, that's EXACTLY what you'd look like."

Kanami shook her head, even as a grin remained on her face. "Sheesh. Why do guys love lesbians so much? They're not interested in YOU, you know."

"Well..." Cougar stretched his arms above his head. "We secretly believe that if we catch them at just the right time, we'll be invited to join in."

"Oh my God." Kanami put a hand to her forehead.

"Hey, you're the one who asked." Cougar's smirk was very big.

Kanami turned to look up at him again. "I suppose you also think that while you and Kazuma were out today, Melissa and I stripped down to bra and panties for a pillow fight."

Cougar's smirk disappeared, and he looked right at Kanami with the most sincere expression he could muster. "Yes, I do."

Kanami started laughing, only to cut it off in a gasp as she heard the front door opening. "Damn it Cougar!" She scolded him. "If it turns out you've ruined this evening, I'm going to get in your head, then make you pull your pants down and play the drum solo from 'Wipeout' on your butt cheeks!"

Cougar blinked in surprise. "Wow, nice threat." His grin returned. "But I think this evening is gonna turn out just fine." He nodded at the entrance to the kitchen.

"Did I miss something?" Kanami turned around slowly to see Kazuma standing just inside the doorway to the living room. He was decked out from head to toe in very snazzy clothes, with a bouquet of roses in his left hand.

"Are... Are you wearing a tuxedo?" Kanami slowly walked toward him as if she thought he was a mirage.

"Yeah, why not?" He grinned. "Plus, if Kenjo shows up again, I can be all James Bond-like!" He punched the air with his right hand, and Kanami noticed he was still wearing his glove. Clearly, the change in clothes didn't indicate any real change in attitude. "Anyway, get some shoes on. You and I are going on an actual date."

Kanami's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Well, if your clothes are any indication, I better go change." She started heading for the stairs.

"Oh, you don't need to worry." Kazuma waved that concern aside. "The restaurant's officially closed today and tomorrow. We'll be the only people there. I called in a few favors." He explained in response to Kanami's confused look. "So just get some shoes on, and..." He trailed off as he a got a look at her feet, and saw only a semi-transparent black nylon where socks would normally be.

"I... would really feel a lot better if I could go change." Kanami said, staring at the floor, sure that she was blushing like an idiot.

"Um... okay, sure." Kazuma responded, bewildered.

Kanami started heading toward the stairs again, but stopped in front of Cougar and stood on tiptoe, bringing her height a little closer to his, though he was still a lot taller. "You are SO going to get it!" She growled, then turned and hurried up the stairs.

"I did miss something, didn't I?" Kazuma turned to Cougar.

"Yep." Cougar answered bluntly. "But in this case, I really do think you'll be happier not knowing. Plus, I'm pretty sure you'll have it figured out by the end of the night anyway."

"WHAT are you talking about?" Kazuma frowned.

Cougar's smirk returned once more. "Just be patient for a few hours, and all will become clear."

.

Kanami was somewhat confused by her own emotions as she and Kazuma hurried through the newly falling snow to the door of the restaurant. Now back in a nice dress and her normal underwear, she felt a lot more comfortable. Maybe she HAD just been lying to herself. Plus, she was also starting to wonder if she and Kazuma had somehow traded genders without noticing. Here, all she had been able to think about was jumping him at the earliest opportunity, while he had apparently spent the day planning a romantic evening.

Though the exterior lights were off, Kanami recognized the restaurant as Merriman's, which was widely considered to be the best restaurant on the island. Kazuma once again opened the door for her, but he looked so handsome in that tux, she found herself without a smart remark. Inside, most of the lights were off, but there were a few on over a cluster of tables next to the huge bay windows in front. Kazuma headed to a table that was set for two, despite the fact that there didn't seem to be anyone around. As they got closer, Kanami realized that it was the only table with a lighted candle. They had just begun to sit down when a lady in her early thirties, with long dark hair, emerged from the kitchen doors.

"Ah, Kazuma! Right on time. For once." She added with a grin. "I trust the table is to your liking, but if not, we can get you set up somewhere else."

"No, this is great Meredith." Kazuma grinned. "Thanks for accomodating us."

"As if I could refuse the man who's the only reason this place is still standing." Now, she turned to Kanami. "And this must be the young lady Kazuma can never stop talking about."

"Well if not, then he's in trouble." Kanami grinned, and they all laughed. "Yes, I'm Kanami. Nice to meet you."

"Well, I'm sure Kazuma will have the usual..." Meredith glanced at him, and he nodded. "But I imagine you'd like to see the menu." With that, she went off to get a menu for Kanami.

"The usual?" Kanami was surprised. "Just how often do you come here? This looks like a pretty expensive place..."

Kazuma shrugged. "They'll usually give me a free meal if I stop by at the end of my shift. I don't make them give me a table or anything. I just eat in back and goof off with the cooks."

"Hmm..." She gave him a disbelieving look. "If that's true, how come I've never seen any leftovers in the fridge?"

"There aren't any leftovers." He answered. "Trust me, the food is top notch."

.

The food was indeed top notch. Kazuma had beef tenderloins with a kind of red pepper cream sauce, plus extremely skinny onion rings on top of that. Kanami went with linguine and beef medallions topped with alfredo sauce and gorgonzola cheese. For dessert, they split what turned out to be a very thin pastry shell filled with a very thick molten chocolate. As Kazuma scraped the last remnants off the plate, Kanami leaned back in her chair and patted her stomach. "Oof. I am gonna put on a few pounds if we keep eating like this."

"Hey, it's Christmas. You're supposed to put on a few pounds." Kazuma pointed out.

"I suppose." Kanami admitted, staring outside at where the thickly falling snow was illuminated in the street lights. "So, what brought this on, anyway?" She asked, turning back to Kazuma.

"I just wanted some more genuine alone time with you." He smiled. "You know how hard it can be to get Cougar out of the house." He said, and she laughed.

"Yes, I know that all too well. We need to get him a girl." Kanami smirked.

Kazuma looked thoughtful for a second. "With his personality, I'm pretty sure he could get a girl any time he wants to. He just doesn't want to."

Kanami leaned forward. "You ever gonna tell me WHY?"

Kazuma's smile returned. "I suppose everyone is just going to assume that I tell you everything now. All right, but even I don't know the whole story. All I know is that the first two girls he fell for ended up dying, and the third picked Ryuho over him."

Kanami sat back in surprise. "The first two died? How?"

"I'm not sure." Kazuma admitted. "Based on a few things he's said, I'm pretty sure at least one was caused by alter gang in-fighting, but I really don't know."

"Wow..." Kanami sighed softly. "I can't even imagine... what that would be like." Now she was looking at Kazuma pointedly.

"Hey, don't worry. I'm not going anywhere." His grin returned. "Besides, I always win in the end. You know that."

"Yeah, but I think that's mainly because you're too stubborn to realize when you're supposed to lose." She smiled softly. "It's your fearless, all out attack attitude that makes you so strong, I think." Now her smile disappeared. "Just promise me that you'll always keep that attitude. Don't let yourself be distracted by worrying about me, or the kids, or anything else..."

"The kids?" Kazuma raised an eyebrow. "Isn't it a little early to be talking about that kind of thing?"

Kanami looked him right in the eye. "No. I don't think so." She said quietly. "I don't think we need to go through the usual stages of a relationship. I don't think we need traditional dates like this. Not that dinner wasn't great." She was quick to add. "But we've already been living together for ten years, and we know each other way better than anyone else does."

"Yeah, that's true." Kazuma agreed. He paused for a second as Meredith came out of the kitchen and started heading back to their table.

"Is there anything else I can bring for you guys?" She asked as she picked the dessert plate up.

"Oh no. We've kept you at work on Christmas Eve more than long enough." Kazuma replied. "Everything was great, as usual." He took a few bills out of his wallet, and set them down on the table.

"Hey, you know your money's no good here, Kazuma." She gestured for him to put the bills back in his wallet.

"I know. That's your tip." He grinned.

"That's about... sixty percent." She said, scrutinizing the money.

He shrugged. "Oh well. You did me a solid tonight."

Meredith shrugged too, then picked up the cash. "All right, I'm not going to put up much of a fight about this. Merry Christmas, you two."

"Merry Christmas." Kazuma nodded. "Oh, and Ryuho will probably be coming in here with a party of eighteen at some point this week. Just a heads up."

Meredith groaned. "Yeesh. Will you and Cougar be two of the eighteen?" He nodded. "Well, that'll make it slightly more bearable." With that, she disappeared through the kitchen doors.

"Well, look who suddenly feels like a big shot in his new tux." Kanami laughed.

"No," Kazuma shook his head, "I feel like a big shot because I'm with you."

Kanami laughed again. "Sheesh. I'd tell you to cut out the cheesy romantic lines, but for some reason, they work."

Kazuma grinned broadly. "Yeah, that 'cause you know I mean it." The grin remained on his face as he stood up and put his coat back on. Buried in their conversation was the implication that Kanami was already okay with the idea of being the mother of his children, and that filled him with a strange combination of joy and anxiety.

"You okay, Kazu-kun?" Kanami asked as they got back to the entrance. "You look kind of funny."

Kazuma pretended to stifle a burp. "Oof. Pepper sauce."

"Uh huh." Kanami said flatly. "Given that I've seen you eat habanero salsa on more than one occassion, I doubt that sauce affected you."

Kazuma did his best to put his usual grin back on his face. "Never mind that. Before we head home, I've got one more surprise for you."

.

Since it was dark now, it had taken Kanami a little while to realize that they were back at the deserted field where she had demonstrated her newfound abilities two days ago. The snow had stopped for the moment, but it was pretty deep, and she was definitely not dressed for it. She found that she was getting a little cranky, despite her curiousity. "Since we're back out in the open, I'm guessing this is an alter demonstration. What, can you vaporise an entire square mile with one punch now?"

"No." Kazuma said over his shoulder as he headed away from the van. "Well, I CAN, but that's not what I want to show you."

"Well, can we make it quick? My feet are already numb." She shivered, rubbing the sleeves of her jacket.

"Trust me, it's going to be worth it." Kazuma said, then turned around. "All right, I think we're far enough away from the van here." To Kanami's surprise, he wrapped his arms around her shoulders.

"Kazu-kun, this is so NOT the place for this." Kanami informed him, despite the smile that appeared on her face.

"Oh, I think it is." He pulled back to reveal a very Cougar-like smirk on his face. Suddenly, brilliant silver flames sprang up around both of them, and Kazuma's hair rose up into its alter pose.

"Kazu-kun?" Kanami gasped. She suddenly felt a lot warmer, but otherwise, the silver flames didn't seem to be having any effect.

"Hold on tight." He winked, and she felt his grip around her shoulders tighten. She had barely gotten her arms around his back when they rose up into the air, then flew up into the sky, steadily increasing in speed.

"Where are we going?!" Kanami gasped. She couldn't really hear her own voice above the sound of the air rushing by, but somehow, Kazuma did.

"Into space." He said easily. Kanami wanted to ask if he'd ever taken a passenger with him into space before, but decided that she'd be happier not knowing. She could still feel the pull of Earth's gravity, and decided that she didn't want to look down just yet. So, she simply closed her eyes and held on tight.

Slowly but surely, the sound of the whistling air faded, then disappeared completely. The tug of gravity had disappeared as well, and Kanami felt like she was floating in a pool, minus the wet part. She opened her eyes to see a million stars floating in the black sky, not twinkling at her like they did back on the ground. "This is how **I **leave the Lost Ground." She was surprised to hear Kazuma's voice reach her ears. She felt his arms trying to twist her around, so she let herself be pulled. Taking up most of her field of vision was the Earth, glowing lights signifying human habitations covering a good chunk of the land masses, particularly on Japan.

"Oh my God." Kanami whispered. "Kazu-kun, how are you doing this?" She wondered. She had always assumed that when Kazuma or Ryuho went up to space, they survived the vacuum by using their alter power to keep the space around them pressurized, and deliver energy directly to their cells, thereby cancelling out the need for oxygen, for a while at least. Clearly though, they were still breathing and talking normally. Kanami also found that the silver alter fire that surrounded them was somehow NOT causing her to see the world in shades of silver. A crescent of the planet to the west was still in daylight, and the brilliant blue of the ocean was unchanged.

"It's probably best not to think about the HOW too much." Kazuma smiled. "Like that old saying about how if a centipede actually thinks about HOW he's moving his dozens of legs, he can no longer walk. I just know, my power can make it happen."

"Haven't the spy satellites seen us come up here?" She wondered.

"Most definitely." Kazuma answered easily. "I sent a notice out to the UN and United States that we'd be coming up here this evening, for strictly non-military purposes. The only things we have to watch out for are Japanese Intelligence satellites. Most of their newer ones are equipped with 'Alter Killer' missiles. Which totally do not live up to their name, by the way." He smiled again. "But even so, shielding us from the explosion would not be fun."

"Yeesh, I'm sure it wouldn't be." She nodded. "Then, let's just enjoy the view while we can."

"Exactly." Kazuma agreed. "Whenever I'm getting a little too fed up with the world, I remember the view from up here... and I remember that all the ugliness in the world doesn't really come from the world, but from us."

"Us?" Kanami wondered.

"Not you and me specifically," Kazuma elaborated, "but humanity in general. Sometimes I think our species hit self-awareness too soon, or else something got screwed up in the way our self-control evolved. We hurt ourselves and we hurt each other so much, even when we don't want to..."

"Kazu-kun?" Kanami was surprised. She had expected his words to be much more romantic, but instead she was getting a glimpse into his mind. Not that she had a problem with that.

Now Kazuma twisted around so that he was in front of Kanami, the glow of the crescent of daylight on the planet below illuminating him from behind, even as he gave off his own radiant, alter powered glow. A sad looking smile was on his face. "I don't know if I'll ever be able to forgive myself for hurting you."

"What... are you talking about?" Kanami wondered.

"My extremely misguided attempt to teach you to be self-sufficient by being completely unreliable... My disappearing for eight months because I thought anyone around me would always be in danger... My disappearing again after the fight with Mujo... I've made you cry so many times before." He sighed. "And the odds are, I probably will again, at some point."

"Well, the fact that I'm here with you right now is a pretty strong indication that I'VE forgiven you." She smiled. "If you're looking to drown yourself in guilt, then you're talking to the wrong person, because **I** want you to be happy."

"I'm not sure WHERE I'm going with this." He admitted. "It's just that being up here always makes me think."

"Well I'm having a thought too." Kanami's grin turned a little mischevious. "How many people can actually say they've made out in space?"

"Well, aside from a discreet few on the International Space Station, probably none." Kazuma's grin returned.

Kanami put a hand on either of his shoulders, and started pulling herself toward him. "Then what say we be the first?"

"I say, you're on." Kazuma's grin turned warm again, while his arms went down around Kanami's waist. The two let themselves be lost in the brilliant silver star that shone above the Earth, with all the brilliance of the other side.

.

"Never forget how beautiful the Earth looks from afar." - Vice Foreign Minister Darlian, _Gundam Wing_

(Nanaki's note: This is the only fanfic I've done where I haven't ended every chapter with a quote, so the above line may seem a bit out of place. However, I thought it just fit the chapter too well to leave out.

On another note, I'm sure many were puzzled by Cougar's mention of the "Gundam Seed trilogy" in this chapter. This is simply my way of expressing my sincere hope that Sunrise will eventually get around to making a third Gundam Seed series that clears up the questions that remain. I don't think it would necessarily have to be a full fifty episode series either. A thirteen episode OVA like Gundam 0083 might do it.

Oh, and if you're thinking that a man as smart as Tadanori Kiryu wouldn't try to take a turkey out of the oven bare handed, know that my great uncle Jake, who worked on NUCLEAR MISSILES during the '50s and '60s, did that very thing on Thanksgiving in 1991. Anyway, I'm sure you're all eager to see how Kazuma and Kanami's first date ends, so look for the next chapter in... God only knows. I'm working on about five fanfics right now, and it took me forever to get this chapter done, so we'll just have to wait and see. Hopefully, less than three months though.)


	10. Kazuma's Present

**Christmas in the Lost Ground**

**Chapter 10: Kazuma's Present**

By Nanaki

Kazuma and Kanami had been quietly watching the Earth for close to a half hour, Kazuma's arms wrapped around Kanami's waist. Suddenly, Kazuma stifled a yawn. "Uh oh. I guess it's about time to head home." He announced.

"Already?" Kanami sounded disappointed. "I could stay up here for days."

"Then I'll be sure to bring you back soon." Kazuma smiled. "Right now though, we need to go. Being up here when fatigue sets in is a bad idea."

Kanami suddenly imagined what would happen if Kazuma fell asleep in the vacuum of space. They would undoubtedly die in a rather grisly fashion before he could re-raise his alter barrier. "Good point." She nodded. She turned around, fastening her arms tightly around Kazuma's back once again. Which gave her a good view of the exhaust jet of some sort of projectile, heading right for them. "Ah, incoming!" She wasn't quite sure if that was the right thing to say, but Kazuma got the message.

"Hoo boy!" Instantly, they were rocketing back toward the planet, and only then did Kazuma turn to look over his shoulder. "Well, that's one of the Alter Killers I was talking about. Looks like it wants a race!" Kazuma's speed increased noticeably. "Good eye, Kanami. You just turned a very unpleasant situation into a mere near-death experience."

"What?!" Kanami gasped. "You mean that thing is actually powerful enough to punch through your barrier?"

"I don't know," Kazuma admitted, "but if my guard was down, probably."

Kanami suddenly felt a little queasy. Now, she wasn't so sure she wanted to come back up here, after all. The next thing she knew, Kazuma's silver alter fire was surrounded by a deep red glow, clearly being generated by heat. "Um... shouldn't we be slowing down?" Kanami wondered.

Kazuma risked another look back over his shoulder. "Yeah... I don't think so." The missile was still clearly in visual range, also beginning to glow red now. "Besides, my fire is more powerful than the atmosphere's! We'll be fine."

Kanami thought that this sounded uncomfortably like a statement nature would be eager to prove wrong, but they continued to hurtle through the atmosphere at supersonic speeds, while the missile tailing them began to wobble, then suddenly blew up in a blinding explosion. Even at the speed they were traveling, the concussion from the blast threw them forward, and Kanami was almost jarred out of Kazuma's grasp. Almost, but then Kazuma clamped his arms around her with a strength that made it almost impossible to breathe. A second later, their flight path steadied, and Kazuma slowed down a bit. "Good God." Kanami whispered, looking back at the explosion. "They sent a missile like that to take out a single, human sized target?"

"Well, they know what they're up against." Kazuma smirked.

"But, that looked too big to be a conventional warhead." Kanami shook her head. "Don't tell me that was a nuke!"

"No, they're not willing to risk using nukes. Not yet, anyway." Kazuma grimaced. "The LGDF believes the Alter Killers are experimental matter/antimatter weapons, albeit very small ones. Whoops, hold on." Kazuma had realized they were now plummeting headfirst toward the ground, and reoriented them the other way. The wind was roaring around them again, and they were soon plummeting back through the snow clouds, though Kanami still felt warm. To Kanami's surprise, they had come back down not only above the Lost Ground, but even directly above the right area, as the city lights were a ways away, with only a few sparse lights directly below them. Kazuma adjusted his angle a bit, and soon enough, Kanami could make out the outcropping of rock that shielded their house from view.

Kazuma didn't even slow down as they neared the house, leaving Kanami no time to ask what he thought he was doing. Suddenly, they were simply standing in the street, the silver alter fire exploding outward from them as if IT had somehow absorbed the impact. "Whoah," Kanami gasped, clearly impressed. "Was it a good idea to come down to the house so directly?" She asked, instantly huddling up in her jacket. Without the warmth of Kazuma's power, the freezing air felt even colder than it probably was, and it was probably pretty darn cold.

"I wouldn't have if it wasn't for the cloud cover. But the clouds will make visual tracking impossible, and because they're snow clouds, infra-red and other heat sensors won't work well either." Kazuma said, and Kanami observed that he was breathing heavily. Clearly, the flight had taken some effort.

"But, don't you have to go back and get the van now?" She flashed him an evil grin.

"Well I... crap!" Kazuma clearly hadn't been thinking about that. "I wasn't really thinking about saving energy for a second trip..."

"Well, you could just punch your way over there with your alter's first form. It's only about five miles." Kanami suggested.

Kazuma thought about it for a second. "Nah, not in this weather." He shook his head, and Kanami didn't blame him. It wasn't snowing right now, but the wind had picked up while they were in space, and with the wind chill, it was probably down to near zero degrees fahrenheit. "All right, if I fall asleep right away when I get back, don't be too insulted." He spread his feet apart, muscles tensed.

Quickly, Kanami ran a hand along his jawline. "Try to save SOME energy." She gave him a mischevious grin.

"Heh." Kazuma's grin now mirrored her own. "Don't worry then, I will." Kanami took a few steps back, and Kazuma was surrounded by silver fire once again. He blasted off into the sky, but stayed at a low altitude, so he was out of sight in just a few seconds.

Truth be told, Kanami's biggest concern wasn't the van either, though Cougar would be furious if they left his van sitting out in a field all night, where anyone crazy enough to be out in this weather would find it extremely easy to break into. She was also not real flustered by their near miss with the missile. When you were with Kazuma, if something missed by an inch, it was as good as a mile. However, Kanami was glad that she'd gotten rid of him for a little bit, because this gave her time to change. Again.

At least, she thought so. But as she hurried up the front steps, shivering all the way, she realized that she did not have her keys. She must have left them on her dresser in her hurry to get changed. 'Tell me the side door's open. Tell me the side door's open.' She thought as she went around to the driveway, squinting against the wind. She had to step carefully around the holes she had created during her fight with Kenjo two nights ago, but she was there soon enough. The side door was also locked securely. They did have one of those fake rocks with a spare key inside, but it was around back by the garage, currently buried under a foot of snow. 'The garage!' She realized. There was a door in the rear of the garage that they hardly ever used, since they didn't really have a yard, in the traditional sense.

The snow was even deeper than she'd expected, but Kanami got to the rear door soon enough. She tried it, fingers crossed, and... "Locked!" She groaned out loud. What were the odds that Cougar, of all people, would actually bother to lock every door in the house before he left? Well, she could either huddle up on the front porch until Kazuma got back, or start searching for that fake rock. She started digging in the snow, and her hands started hurting before she'd scooped away more than a few handfuls. Nevertheless, she kept going, and her hands were completely numb within thirty seconds. Now, she was pretty much just bludgeoning the snow out of the way with her forearms. 'This is stupid.' She realized. 'I better just wait until he gets back-' With that, her left arm scraped against something.

She had to hold her hands in her armpits for a while to get the feeling back, and they hurt like hell when she finally could feel something. But, when she picked the object up, she found that it was indeed the fake rock. Either it was some incredible luck, or her alter had subtley helped out. Kanami headed back toward the front, not feeling her toes at all now, and her legs suffering from the same kind of pain that her hands just had. When she got to the door, she got the key out and tossed the rock aside without a second thought. She had to fumble with the door for a while, but she finally got inside and rushed straight for the heater in the kitchen. Instantly, all the powder that had been clinging to her shoes and the bottom of her dress began to melt, and she found that she was fairly soaked. "Well, I feel really sexy NOW." She groaned.

.

Somehow, it had all worked out. Kanami had sat in front of the heater, hands almost touching the grill, for close to ten minutes before she stopped shivering. However, that had given her inspiration for a great deal-closing line. Something along the lines of, "Come on Kazu-kun, warm me up!" Then, when she'd finally been able to tear herself away from the heater, she'd headed for the bathroom, turning on every heater she came across along the way. With an almost grim determination, she'd grabbed her lingerie again, then gone into the bathroom and locked the door.

Her hair was a complete and utter mess, and she realized that two flights through the atmosphere at high speed hadn't done it any favors. Three minutes later, her hair was back to normal, she was back in the lingerie, and she was FREEZING! Really, if she ran her hand along Kazuma's jawline like this, he'd probably just yell out in shock. She quickly went to her closet and looked for a sweater. The first one she found was a charcoal colored number that Cougar had gotten her last Christmas, and that she hardly ever wore, because it was really too big for her. But right now, that was a good thing. She put it on, pulled her hands up into the sleeves, and headed back to the bathroom.

That was when she got another glimpse of herself in the mirror, but this time she thought, 'Hey, not bad.' There were a lot of extra folds and creases in the sweater as it did its best to hug a form that was smaller than it had been designed for, but somehow, the sweater did succeed in hugging that form. Kanami also noticed that the sweater hung down a little bit past the bottom of her butt, then there were several inches of bare skin, before the semi-transparent black nylon that covered her legs ended mid-thigh. 'That's actually...' She moved back and forth in front of the mirror, 'pretty good. Well, go with what works.'

So, she'd taken off everything else under the sweater, and now sat in the middle recliner downstairs, awaiting Kazuma's return. He'd been gone for close to a half hour now, longer than should have been necessary. Kanami had started trying to read a book she'd been working on, but was finding it hard to concentrate, partly because she was worried about Kazuma, partly because the sensation of not wearing any underwear was a new one to her. It was almost nine thirty now.

Suddenly, the front door banged open, and she could hear Kazuma stomp inside. He closed it more softly, then started to take his coat off as he came into the living room. The coat, as well as his pants, was fairly covered with mud. "What happened?" Kanami gasped.

"It was stolen!" Kazuma groaned. "During the maybe forty minutes we left it unattended, some drunken teenagers jacked it. You can probably tell, they didn't want to pull over, either. I think it's safe to say, I'm gonna have to buy this tux." He complained.

"Would that be so terrible?" Kanami raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, you're just loving this, aren't you?" Kazuma half-heartedly complained as he tossed his jacket over by the side door. "But Cougar's gonna be royally..." He trailed off as his eyes finally focused on Kanami. "Uh, Kanami..." That adorable blush colored his face again. "When you changed clothes, did you maybe forget something?"

"Nope." She stood up and stretched her arms out a bit, causing the bottom of the sweater to rise up maybe half an inch higher. Kanami was careful not to stretch her arms up too much though, because she didn't have much leeway between flashing a little more leg and flashing everything. She didn't feel ready for that quite yet. "You like?"

"Well, 'like' hardly does it justice." Kazuma grinned.

Kanami grinned right back. He had gone from angry to happy and astonished in about three seconds, and it was clearly because of her. "I'm glad. Well come on, let's get you out of those muddy clothes." She started heading for the stairs. She had hoped Kazuma would follow close behind, but instead he went into the kitchen first and took his muddy shoes off. Oh well, his loss. She turned the heater on in his room and was sitting on his bed when he got up there. He came into the room a few seconds later, peeling off the clearly damp outermost layer of the tux. Still in a neatly buttoned vest, with buttoned shirt and tie below that, he obviously had a ways to go. "You know, you really do give off a James Bond vibe in those clothes." She told him. "Not that I've seen a whole lot of those movies."

"Oh no? Which ones have you seen?" Kazuma asked, loosening the tie.

"Mainly the originals from the '60s, with Sean Connery." She answered.

"Well, those are the best ones." He smiled. "Though most of the six Daniel Craig did are pretty awesome too." He got the vest off, then started unbuttoning the shirt. "Uh, Kanami..." He turned to look at her, slowly. "You really don't need to be here for this..."

"Oh?" She raised an eyebrow. "Do you WANT me to leave?"

Kazuma frowned. "Why am I getting a vibe that that's a dangerous question for me to answer?"

"I don't know, because the right answer is NO, you doofus." She folded her arms.

"All right, no then." He continued unbuttoning the shirt, revealing a white undershirt beneath. Then he turned around as he took the muddy pants off, revealing striped boxers beneath. No, Kanami realized they were actually those boxer-brief combination things. "Kanami, you know I enjoy your teasing, but I really think-"

"You know Kazu-kun," she interrupted him, "sometimes you think too much, no matter what everyone else says about you." She very carefully laid down on her stomach, making sure to keep the sweater pulled down as far as it would go, which was really not very far. "Now, how do you feel about the idea of rubbing my back?"

"Nervous." Kazuma answered honestly. "But in a good way, I admit." He quickly added. Kanami scooted over a little on the bed, and he sat down on the edge next to her. He tentatively put his hands on her shoulders, and began rubbing gently, slowly working his way down her back.

"Ooh, that's very nice." Kanami said, and meant it. She could hear the wind howling outside, but in here was just the soft whir of the heater, the rhythm of Kazuma's breathing, and the even softer sound of Kazuma's hands moving against the fabric of her sweater. Kanami let out a soft sigh, hardly feeling nervous at all now. "You know, you left me standing outside without my keys, but I've already totally forgiven you."

"I did? How'd you get inside then?" Kazuma wondered, softly kneading her lower back now.

"I had to dig up the fake rock with the spare." She let out a sigh.

"You actually FOUND that?" He sounded amazed. "Without catching frostbite?"

"You tell me." She held out her left hand, and he took hold of it with both of his.

"Whoah, your hands are freezing!" He observed.

"Yes, but you're warming me up nicely, Kazu-kun." She smiled at him.

'Whoah.' Kazuma quickly broke eye contact and went back to rubbing her back. His heartbeat had suddenly started to rise, and it wasn't the only thing.

"How about getting your hands underneath the sweater?" Kanami suggested. She knew that there was no way Kazuma was likely to do this without finding out she wasn't wearing anything BUT the sweater, and made sure to keep her eyes on his face. He was already blushing, but she was sure that blush was about to get even more red. However, when Kazuma actually tugged the edge of the sweater up a little, Kanami found herself reflexively closing her eyes.

Kazuma did manage to get his hands to her lower back without making contact with anything else. What Kanami hadn't counted on was the knuckle guards on Kazuma's glove dragging the sweater along with it. She could feel the cool air of the room on her bare butt, and she could practically feel Kazuma's gaze locked on it at well. "Damn..." She heard him whisper under his breath, as his hands left her back. For a moment she could sense, maybe due to a change in the air current, one of his hands hovering just above, but not quite on, her left cheek. But then, he yanked the hand away, and she felt the sweater being pulled back down. "Kanami..." His voice had a strange quality to it. "Look, I have to warn you... If I keep giving you a massage like this, it's going to turn into a lot more than just a massage."

"That's... pretty much what I was going for." She admitted. Now, she sat up beside him on the bed, looking into his eyes. "So I have to wonder, how did you just manage to make it sound like such a bad thing?"

"Kanami, don't you think it's a little bit early for this?" He asked bluntly.

Kanami thought for a second. "Kazu-kun, that's not the first time lately you've asked me something like that, and I keep saying no. I think you need to ask yourself, what's holding YOU back?"

Kazuma cocked his head a bit, clearly not having thought about it that way. "I don't know. I guess..." He thought about it for a few seconds. "I don't deserve you." He finally whispered.

"Is that all it is?" She let out a sigh of relief. "Here I was worried that you were still hung up on protecting me from yourself."

"Well, that too." He admitted, staring at the floor.

"Kazu-kun..." She ran her hand along his jaw again, forcing him to look at her. "Love isn't about who DESERVES it. It's about who wants who, and I want you."

"And I want you, too." He smiled softly.

"Then why are we borderline-arguing?" She wondered. "Instead of doing something much more enjoyable?"

"Well..." Kazuma scratched the back of his head. "I guess this isn't how I pictured it happening, either."

"Oh? How DID you picture it happening?" She smiled.

"I dunno, I guess I figured you'd be mad at me about something, and I'd try to make it better by cooking a special dinner... But then I'd manage to set the kitchen on fire, and you'd come downstairs to see me using the fire extinguisher, and I dunno... your heart would melt at the sight of me being such an idiot, or something..." Kazuma shrugged.

"Wow, that was pretty involved." Kanami raised an eyebrow. "If you want to get me mad, continuing to question my love for you would probably be a good way to go about it." She smiled. "Although, in the past two days, you've come rushing to my rescue AND taken me up into space, so I still probably won't get mad for a while." Kazuma chuckled, then, to Kanami's amazement, began to loosen his glove. "Whoah, now THIS is a moment." Kanami observed. "Are you sure you're ready for THAT?"

"I'm sure." Kazuma nodded. "Those knuckle guards wouldn't feel pleasant for either of us." He yanked the glove off and let it fall to the floor, frowning at the back of his right hand. Kanami regarded it with curiousity as well, and saw a tattoo there that seemed to be a jagged spiral.

"What... is that?" Kanami wondered.

"Nothing that matters anymore." The smile returned to his face. "It's just a memento of the past, that I'd rather forget."

"But-" Kanami started to ask another question, but Kazuma snaked his right arm around her waist and pulled her in for a kiss. She had already forgotten about it by the time their lips parted. "Kazu-kun..."

"Kanami." He smiled softly. "Do you think you could do me one favor?" He whispered.

"I imagine so." She laid back down on the bed, and Kazuma followed her down, resting his weight on his elbows.

"Stop calling me by that stupid nickname!" He laughed, and Kanami looked surprised. "At least while we're in bed together..."

"All right then." She giggled. "Kazuma..."

The sound of Kanami's sultry voice whispering his ACTUAL name was all the incentive Kazuma needed, and he found his hands inching their way under her sweater again. "Kanami..."

.

At some point later in the night, Kazuma found himself staring up at the dark ceiling, Kanami using his chest as a pillow again, apparently asleep. He had no idea exactly how much later it was, as the clock had been knocked to the floor behind his nightstand, but he knew it was long enough that he was justified in feeling proud of himself. He had turned the light out a while ago, wanting Cougar to assume they were asleep when he got home.

On that thought, Kazuma heard the front door opening, followed by the sound of Cougar and Melissa talking. He felt Kanami stirring a little against his torso. "Mmm..." She let out a happy groan. "Did you like your present, Kazu-kun?" She asked, sounding like she was still mostly asleep.

Kazuma squeezed her shoulder, where his left hand was resting. "You knew just what I wanted."


	11. Anxiety in the Afterglow

**Christmas in the Lost Ground**

**Chapter 11: Anxiety in the Afterglow**

By Nanaki

_"I'm sorry, but... It looks like I'm going to have to break my promise... to see you again."_

_"Don't say that! There has to be a way!"_

_"If I had a lot more time, or a lot more power... But I'm down to virtually none of both. Besides, sacrificing my life to save yours alone would be a damn good deal. The fact that I can save everyone else while I'm at it makes it way too good to even think about passing up."_

_"Kazu-kun, don't you dare! There has to be a way! We'll think of something."_

_"I've got about twenty seconds until this missile hits the point of no return. Sorry. But I do promise, if it's somehow possible to survive thirty simultaneous nuclear detonations, then I'll see you again."_

_"Kazu-kun, no..."_

_"Kanami, I love you. And, goodbye."_

* * *

Kanami's eyes fluttered open, and she quickly sat upright in bed. "Kazu-kun..." She put a hand to her mouth, and could tell that tears were about to start streaming down her face. Fortunately, she could feel Kazuma's warm body next to hers. As she blinked in the darkness, she could hear a soft snore coming from Kazuma's direction, and it almost looked like there was a smile on his face, though that should have been impossible for someone fast asleep. "Well, at least I wasn't dreaming about the past..." She said in relief. However, she could tell that she wouldn't be getting back to sleep any time soon, and she also didn't want to just sit here and wake Kazuma up with her fidgeting.

She could definitely use a shower, so she decided to head for the bathroom. However, as she slipped out of the covers, she realized that, aside from the black leggings, she was completely naked. Kazuma had REALLY wanted her to keep those leggings on, for some reason. Well, it was a sexy look, she had to admit. Though she definitely didn't want to be seen emerging from Kazuma's room like this, not that anyone else was likely to be up while it was still dark outside. 'Good. Don't think about the dream.' She told herself. Unfortunately, telling herself that DID make her think about the dream again. 'Sometimes a dream is just a dream.' She reminded herself.

However, it sure didn't feel like "just a dream". It had felt all too real, but what bothered her the most was that Kazuma didn't look any different in the dream. No new scars, nothing else to indicate that the dream Kazuma was older than the current one. It could happen tomorrow, for all she knew. "Damn it." She whispered, and sat back down on the bed, putting a hand to Kazuma's chest so she could feel his heartbeat.

Only after sitting like that for a full minute did she feel able to head for the shower. She found her sweater on the floor and pulled it back on, then headed for the bathroom. She tried not to sob as tears streamed down her face, but it was getting more difficult. The satisfied smile that had been on his face as he said, "I love you. And, goodbye," was more than she could take. As she got in the shower and started washing her hair, she tried to focus on the good things.

Last night had been... _incredible_. She'd known it would be emotionally, of course. But physically, that hadn't been a certainty. Of course, it had a hurt a little at first, because that was just the stupid way nature had designed women. But he'd been patient and gentle, not just down there, but everywhere. He seemed to instinctively know where the dividing line was between a pleasurably firm grip and a painful squeeze. And he'd kissed just about every part of her on the way to...

Kanami found herself blushing like an idiot as a fresh burst of arousal shot through her. 'Well, that's more like it.' She grinned, sensing the flow of tears coming to a stop. However, the thought that she could lose him at any time now ate at her, so that by the time she turned the water off and reached for a towel, she was on the verge of tears again.

_"I'm sorry, but... It looks like I'm going to have to break my promise... to see you again."_

"No..." Kanami whispered. "It's just a dream. Just a dream!" She cried, putting both hands down on the counter. "Damn it..." The tears finally came full force, and the sobs wracked her small frame as she leaned on the counter, head hanging down over the sink.

A minute later, there was a pounding on the bathroom door. "Kanami, are you laughing or crying?!" Cougar demanded. "And either way, what the hell is going on?" Kanami took a deep breath, made sure the towel wrapped around her wasn't about to come undone, threw the door open, and flung herself into Cougar's arms. "Whoah, hello!" His eyebrows shot up in surprise.

"He died, Cougar!" Kanami cried into his chest. "He died, and he didn't look any different!" She tilted her head back to look up at him through tear streaked eyes. "He didn't look ANY different!"

'Does she know what a great view of her cleavage I have right now?' Cougar wondered. Out loud, he said, "I assume we're talking about a dream?"

"Uh huh." Kanami sniffled.

Cougar shook his head. "Sheesh. Even now, both of you are convinced that the other doesn't love you nearly as much as you love them."

"I really don't think that's it." Kanami buried her head against Cougar's chest again. "It was a premonition. I'm sure of it." She said miserably.

"Okay." Cougar patted her back gently. "Well then, you should be able to do something about it. Like that old line from the Terminator movies: 'There is no fate but what we make for ourselves'."

"But... He died... to save us all from a massive nuclear attack." Kanami sniffled. "And there are only two alter users in the world who can survive in space, so-"

"Not anymore." Cougar grinned rogueishly. "We've got a few more trump cards of that sort up our sleeves nowadays. Try not to worry about it too much."

"But you know he'd still be the first one up there..." She protested.

"Oy." Cougar scratched his head. "You know I hate to see you upset Kanami, but I can't help but wonder why you're bothering me when Kazuma is in the room right next to this one!" At that, Kazuma's bedroom door began to open. "Well, speak of the devil."

"Huah... What's up?" Kazuma stepped into the hall, rubbing his eyes with one hand while the other held up the blanket from his bed at waist level, which was not really adequate, so it was clear that he wasn't wearing anything under that.

Cougar snorted, then let go of Kanami. "There's a situation here that needs your attention." Kanami hurried over to Kazuma, her towel starting to come undone along the way, and threw her arms around him. Cougar raised an eyebrow again. "Well, I wondered if I was reading the situation right, but of course I was. That helps explain why she's so emotional this morning."

"Huh?" Kazuma looked dumbfounded.

Kanami, head snuggled up against Kazuma's neck, still managed to turn and look at Cougar. "Don't you think that's just the tiniest bit misogynistic?"

"Oh, he's just as emotional as you are, I guarantee it." Cougar shrugged. "You just can't tell yet because he's still mostly asleep."

"Whatever you say." Kazuma yawned. "How about getting our special Christmas breakfast started, since three of the four of us are awake now?"

Cougar wanted to protest, but he was pretty sure that Kanami wouldn't be available to cook for a while yet, and he was pretty hungry. "All right, but it's going to be special Christmas frozen waffles."

"I was thinking more along the lines of ham and cheese omelets." Kazuma said.

"Frozen waffles it is!" Cougar declared, and started heading for the stairs.

"Oh well." Kazuma shrugged. He turned to look down at Kanami. "You know, you were technically gone when I woke up. Again." He complained, but with a smile on his face.

"Sorry about that." A hint of a smile appeared on Kanami's face as well.

"Is everything okay?" He asked, sounding concerned.

"Physically, yes." Kanami nodded. "Mentally, I'm not too sure..."

"Bad dream?" Kazuma guessed accurately.

"The worst." Kanami let out in a sigh.

"Want to talk about it?" He asked softly.

"No." She shook her head. "I've already thought about it too much, and there's nothing we can do about it right now anyway." Now, she noticed Kazuma yawning again. "So, how long did you stay up just watching me sleep?"

"I have no real idea." Kazuma shrugged. "Probably not TOO long though, or I would have definitely woken you up for... for..." That adorable blush was covering his face again. "Sheesh, why can't I say it? We've already... well, you know. You were there."

Kanami raised an eyebrow. "Really? You still had some stamina left after four times?"

A very smug grin appeared on Kazuma's face now. "Kanami... I felt like I could have pushed it to eight if I needed to. Maybe more. It... well, it definitely wasn't like practicing by yourself, not to put too fine a point on it."

A smug expression appeared on Kanami's face as well now. "So, no complaints?" She grinned.

Kazuma started to lean down for a kiss. "The thought never crossed my mind." He wrapped both arms around her now, and felt the blanket he'd been holding up slide down to the floor at his feet. 'I really hope Melissa doesn't appear in the hallway right now.' He thought as his lips made contact with Kanami's. A few seconds later, Kanami broke contact with a nervous giggle. "What?" Kazuma asked.

"I've never actually had an occasion to use an 'or are you just happy to see me?' joke before, and now I can't think of a good one." Kanami laughed.

"Well, you already know what the answer is anyway." Kazuma smiled, then leaned down to continue the kiss.

"Kazu-kun!" She protested. "I need to start drying my hair! You know it takes like two hours if I don't use the hair dryer."

"I can help with that." He offered.

"Uh huh. I'm sure that's EXACTLY what's on your mind right now." She smirked. "I just got out of the shower, and you want me to have to go right back in."

"Not necessarily..." He said slyly.

"Oh?" She raised an eyebrow. "Do you actually have some condoms in this house that you didn't bother to get last night?"

"No." Kazuma admitted reluctantly. "And please, don't YOU say that word!"

"What word?" Kanami grinned. "Condoms?"

"Yes, that word!" Kazuma agreed loudly.

Kanami had a big grin on her face now. "Why? What's so bad about hearing your girlfriend talk about condoms?"

"I don't know!" Kazuma admitted. "It's just weird."

Kanami was clearly struggling to supress laughter. She looked Kazuma in the eye for about three seconds, then, "Condoms!"

"Kanami!" Kazuma protested, but she probably didn't hear him over the sound of her own laughter.

"For crying out loud, Kanami!" Cougar's raised voice drifted up from downstairs. "Stop saying 'condoms'!" Kazuma burst out laughing now as well.

"Ah..." Kazuma breathed out as they settled down. "Anyway, I was just saying, there are ways. Unless you just don't feel ready again yet. In which case, just tell me."

Kanami raised an eyebrow. "There are ways?"

Kazuma nodded. "At least three that I can think of. No, wait, four."

Kanami grabbed his hand, then started heading for the bathroom. "Show me. Though I can pretty much guarantee I'm not doing at least one of those four things you're thinking of."

"That's what I assumed." Kazuma said with an exaggerated sigh.

"Now, you don't need to sound SO disappointed." She turned to smile at him again. "Gotta save something for later, right?"

'Holy crap!' Kazuma gulped in surprise. "Um... when might 'later' be, exactly?" He asked tentatively.

"Sorry." She shrugged as she closed the bathroom door behind them. "THAT'S classified information."

.

Roughly forty minutes later, Kazuma and Kanami stepped into the kitchen to find nothing but a few dirty dishes in the sink. The sound of Cougar snoring drifted out from the living room, so it was clear he'd given up waiting for them. By this point, Kazuma was feeling so good that he didn't particularly care if he EVER ate again. Kanami apparently felt differently. "Well, so much for the special Christmas breakfast." She complained.

Kazuma just shrugged. "Oh well, we should probably just have a little snack anyway, and save room for the big meal at Ryuho's."

"But I'm STARVING!" Kanami complained as she opened the fridge. "I don't mind telling you Kazu-kun, YOU are a real workout."

"Heheh." Kazuma couldn't help but let out an almost evil-sounding laugh at that. "Were you expecting otherwise?" He raised an eyebrow.

"No." She admitted. "And I get the feeling that you've been taking it easy on me so far. So, thanks for that."

"You got that right." Kazuma said in such an incredibly smug tone that Kanami turned to look at him in surprise. "And what I meant by that was, you're welcome." He quickly backpedaled.

"That's what I assumed." Kanami replied sweetly. "So, you're sure you just want something quick for breakfast?"

Kazuma shrugged. "I'm planning on putting away a couple pounds of turkey later. You know it's not really Christmas unless I can keep Ryuho from having any leftovers."

Kanami laughed. "I've got some bad news for you. Mimori told me two years ago that they always buy a separate turkey breast, just so they can have a leftover-esque meal on the 26th, despite your best efforts."

"What? No way!" Kazuma laughed.

"I'm afraid so." Kanami nodded. Then, she opened up the cupboard. "All right, let's see... The perfect light breakfast for you..." She rummaged around a bit. "Okay, donut holes that expired two weeks ago, plus a candy cane!" She handed the goodies over. "Enjoy!"

"Awesome!" Kazuma grinned. "Oh, you know me SO well." He leaned down and kissed her on the cheek, then headed out to the living room. Kanami, meanwhile, started getting more waffles ready.

.

Melissa came downstairs later to find Cougar and Kazuma snoring away in their recliners, while even Kanami was barely staying awake. The TV was showing some kind of Christmas parade, but the volume was turned down pretty low, and she looked like she could nod off at any moment. "Hey, morning." Melissa called softly.

"Oh, morning." Kanami turned toward Melissa, her eyes opening up a little.

Melissa scrutinized her friend for a second, then her eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Oh my God!"

"What?" Kanami wondered, still looking sleepy.

"Oh my God!" Melissa repeated, then she darted over and grabbed Kanami by the wrist, yanking her out of the recliner. "You. Kitchen. Now!" Melissa dragged Kanami out of the living room.

"Melissa!" Kanami protested. "Sheesh, what's the emergency?"

"You had sex!" Melissa whispered, but not very quietly.

"I sure did." Kanami replied in an almost bored tone. "What's the big deal?"

"What's the big deal?!" Melissa tried to keep whispering, but didn't succeed. "It was your first time, wasn't it?"

"Yes it was." Kanami replied in that same bored tone.

"And, unless something completely insane happened, it must have been with Kazuma, right? Who you've been in love with virtually forever?"

"Yes, and yes." Kanami shrugged.

"Kanami! What the hell is wrong with you?" Melissa grabbed Kanami by the shoulders now, shaking her back and forth. "Just hearing about this is exciting!"

Kanami's face suddenly broke into a huge smile. "I'm just messing with you." She giggled. "It was the best night of my entire life!"

"All right then! Now we're getting somewhere!" Melissa looked relieved. "Okay, first thing's first. What'd it look like?"

"MELISSA!!"

"Okay, okay. We'll come back to that one." Melissa waved her own question aside. "Perhaps even more importantly, how was it?"

Kanami let herself be lost in the memories for a second, before answering. "Well, it was-"

"Ooh, that bad huh?" Melissa misinterpreted Kanami's hesitation to answer. "Well, they usually are at first. You've gotta take charge and tell him exactly what-"

"No, no!" Kanami interrupted right back. "I hesitated because it was that GOOD."

"Really?" Melissa looked surprised. "Well, lucky you! All right, so what exactly-"

"And that's all I'm telling." Kanami slowly shook her head.

"What? Oh, come on!" Melissa shook Kanami by the shoulders again.

"Sorry, but, happy as I am about it, this is something very private." Melissa still looked disappointed. "Look, this wasn't just a roll in the hay with a frat guy, okay? This is the real deal." Kanami smiled softly.

"All right, all right, I get it." Melissa let out a sigh, then turned to look out the kitchen window. "So... How big was it?"

"MELISSA!!!" Kanami shouted again, before a furious blush colored her face. "Pretty darn big." She whispered.

"Oh, here we go!" Melissa grinned. "Okay, so give me some idea..."

Kanami started to make a gesture with her right hand, but then quickly clasped her hands behind her back when Cougar walked into the kitchen, stretching and yawning. "Huah... What's all the commotion?" He wondered.

"Nothing, nothing." Kanami shrugged. "Just girl talk."

Cougar winced. "Ouch. Poor Kazuma."

"Actually, she's got nothing but good things to say." Melissa informed him.

"Really?" Cougar looked surprised. "Well, good for him."

"You know, he's awake now too!" Kazuma called from the living room, and the three of them burst out laughing. Kazuma was stretching and yawning as well as he walked into the kitchen, but he also had a bit of a smirk on his face. "All right, now that everybody's up, what say we head over to Ryuho's?"

.

(Nanaki's note: This chapter turned out quite a bit more risque than I originally thought it would be, not that I think anybody will mind a whole lot. Heck, I've seen Seinfeld episodes more suggestive than this, so I see no reason to bump the story's rating up to M. I'm betting that it just _feels_ more explicit because the written word invites your imagination to fill in the blanks a lot more effectively than TV does. Anyway, I'm not going to be an idiot and say that the next chapter will be up soon, because I always turn out to be wrong when I say that. But, I am pretty optimistic that this story will actually be done by this Christmas. I'm probably an idiot for saying THAT as well, but let's all keep our fingers crossed...)


	12. Christmas Day

**Christmas in the Lost Ground**

**Chapter 12: Christmas Day**

By Nanaki

They arrived to find the Tairen manor all lit up with Christmas lights, even though it was daytime. However, though it wasn't snowing at the moment, the clouds overhead were still fairly dark, so the lights brightened the place up considerably. As they headed inside, Cougar carrying a bag full of presents, they found that the mansion's main visitor reception area was already fairly crowded, though part of that was due to the nearly twenty foot tall tree in the center of the room. Most of the adults were seated on sofas arranged in a semi-circular pattern around the tree, watching Scheris gleefully tearing into her absolutely huge pile of presents. Next to her, Mimori was helping Hiryu open up his own stash, while Ryuho stood off to the side snapping pictures, a big smile on his face.

The Kiryus were seated right next to the tree, sipping at hot chocolate, smiling as though they were absolutely fascinated whenever Scheris hurried over to proudly display another present. The Tachibanas were sitting contentedly on the next sofa over, surrounded by their own fairly substantial pile of opened presents and discarded wrapping paper. Someone had placed a red bow from one of the presents on top of Kiriko's head, which Kazuma thought was pretty ridiculous since she was still so newborn that she looked more like a plucked turkey than an actual baby girl, but oh well.

On the sofa next to that, Urizane was stretched out, snoring away with a Santa hat perched on his head. It looked like everyone had gone the safe route and gotten him a watermelon, but that should suit him just fine. As Cougar walked by, he pulled a watermelon of his own out of the bag of presents and added it to the pile. "Merry Christmas everybody!" He called out genially, and almost everyone turned to wave at the new arrivals. "Ho ho ho and a bottle of rum, or however it goes."

"I... don't think that's how it goes." Ryuho said quietly.

Cougar ignored him, and started unpacking their load of presents under the tree, while the other new arrivals got settled on a still empty couch. Soon enough, Cougar headed over to the couch with an empty bag, though he had one small present in his right hand, which he gave to Melissa. "Oh, what's this?" She raised an eyebrow.

"I just figured your supply of presents here would be pretty limited, so someone ought to get you something." He shrugged.

"Well, that was very sweet." She smiled. Cougar handed her a pair of scissors from the bottom of the bag, and she was opening the box in no time. "Now, I wonder what this could- holy crap..." She held up a gold necklace with a dazzling, clear gemstone hanging from it. "Is this a diamond?" She whispered.

"Well, it better be, or else I got fleeced big time." Cougar grinned.

"Sheesh, real subtle Cougar." Ryuho muttered under his breath. Mimori quickly turned her head and made shushing gesture, before turning back the other way. Ryuho found himself wondering once again if he had married the most hopeless romantic in the entire world, or just the continent of Asia.

"Good Lord, how much did this cost?" Melissa wondered out loud.

"Look, it's no big deal." Cougar shrugged again. "Money exists to be spent. At least, that's the stupid thing that I believe. Besides, it's nothing compared to what Kazuma got Kanami."

"THAT'S nothing compared to what you bought, Kazu-kun?" Kanami sounded skeptical as her eyes remained focused on the diamond. "What the heck did you get?"

"Well, I WAS going to save it 'til a little later, thank you very much Cougar, but what the hey." Kazuma pulled a present out from under the back of his sweater that was just slightly larger than the one Cougar had given Melissa. "Merry Christmas, Kanami."

Kanami neatly used the scissors to open the package, not tearing the wrapping paper in the slightest. "Whoah..." She gasped as she took the lid off, then an almost disbelieving laugh escaped from her. "One emerald just wasn't enough, huh Kazu-kun?" Kanami held up a necklace that was composed entirely of emeralds set in gold, eleven in all.

Kazuma shrugged. "Well, I was actually thinking along the lines of a diamond too. But, when I saw that in the jewelry store, it reminded me of the color of your eyes, so-"

"Awwww!" The sound came from both Ryuho and Mimori, but it Ryuho's case, it was sarcastic. "Just makes you feel all warm and squishy inside, huh?" Ryuho added.

Kazuma's right hand had risen up and formed a fist before he was even consciously aware of it, the creaking leather of his glove loud in the sudden silence. "Ryuho, you-"

"You should remember," Kanami cut in, "if you're thinking of teasing us, that I'm capable of doing things to you that are WAY worse than any injury you've ever suffered at Kazu-kun's hands." She kept her eyes on Ryuho as an almost evil-looking grin appeared on her face. Ryuho simply held up his hands in a defensive gesture, and didn't say anything else. Now, she turned back to Kazuma. "Well, even if it was an unnecessary way to spend an UNBELIEVABLE amount of money, it was also very sweet. Thank you, Kazu-kun." She planted a kiss on his cheek that lingered for a moment, and Kazuma was suddenly very tempted to kiss her back, even in front of everyone like this.

"So, um..." He quickly turned away, looking toward the tree again. "Where are the Elian brothers?"

Mimori rolled her eyes. "SOMEBODY got them all motorcyles." She said, clearly not completely approving. "So they're out trying them out right now, even though the roads are icy and the twins don't have driver's licenses yet."

"Hey, it's a practical gift!" Ryuho grinned. "You know the twins are chomping at the bit to join the LGDF when they turn sixteen, and as of yet they haven't awakened Alias like their big brother has, so they need some way to get around."

"So then why give their big brother a motorcycle too, when he knows how to fly?" Mimori wondered.

"Well, it wouldn't be fair to give his little brothers a great present like that, and leave him out." Ryuho explained. "Besides, now he could potentially drive that motorcycle off a cliff, then fly away before it hits the ground. How great is that?"

"Okay, that is pretty freaking awesome." Kazuma had to agree. "In fact-"

"No." Kanami said simply, and Kazuma turned to her, puzzled.

"No what?" He wondered.

"No, you are not buying a motorcycle just so you can drive it off a cliff!" She informed him. Everyone now turned to them with eager expressions on their faces, clearly expecting an entertaining argument.

"Okay." Kazuma shrugged. "Sheesh, who do you think I am? Cougar?" He grinned.

Kanami regarded him with a raised eyebrow for several seconds, before a smirk appeared on her face. "You know, something tells me that your sudden capitulation in this matter isn't really based on the fact that you know I'm right."

Kazuma smirked right back. "Let's just call it pragmatism."

"So, what does that mean? That I'm automatically going to win every argument now?" Kanami wondered.

"Well really, how many times have you ever LOST an argument with me?" Kazuma asked.

"Good point." Kanami grinned.

"All right already!" Cougar walked back over to the tree. "Let's get busy opening some presents."

"You know," Kanami leaned over to whisper in Kazuma's ear, "You kind of DID win an argument this morning."

"Heh." A big grin appeared on Kazuma's face. "I think we can keep that just between us. And anyway, we BOTH ended up the winner in that case."

.

Shortly after noon, the presents had all been opened, the wrapping paper had largely been cleaned up, and the conversation was starting to die down. Ryuho got up, yawned, and stretched. "Well, it's about time, I think."

"Time for what?" Mr. Kiryu asked.

"Why, time for the big annual snowball fight!" Cougar flashed a toothy grin.

"Oh, but the Elians aren't back yet..." Mimori protested.

"I have a feeling they'll be back by the time we get done building our forts and making our snowballs." Cougar shrugged.

Kanami raised her hand. "Yeah... I think you can count me out today. Between the fight with Kenjo and Kazu-kun's attention, I'm pretty wiped out physically."

"Kanami, it's just a friendly snowball fight." Ryuho shrugged.

Now Kanami turned to regard Mrs. Kiryu. "Never listen to an alter using male when they say 'It's just a friendly' anything. They get INCREDIBLY carried away every time."

"I'll keep that in mind." Mrs. Kiryu said dryly.

"In that case, you can count me out too." Kazuma spoke up. Between the flight into space and the other activities of the past twenty four hours, he was still pretty worn out.

"But, you're our team captain!" Cougar protested.

"I don't know why." Kazuma shrugged. "You're way better at this game than I am." That was true enough. Cougar could throw a snowball hard enough to knock someone over and leave a nasty bruise. In fact, if he really wanted to freak someone out, he could throw the snowball hard enough that it turned back into water and evaporated before hitting them, just because of friction with the air.

"Because you always INSIST on being team captain, under threat of extreme violence." Cougar reminded him.

"Do I? Oh well, you're in charge this time." Kazuma shrugged.

"In that case..." Cammy stood up. "Would you watch Kiriko for a while so Asuka and I can both play?"

"Uh, yeah, sure." Kazuma nodded, sitting up a little straighter. He gingerly took Kiriko from Cammy, looking so worried that he was somehow holding her wrong that Kanami couldn't help smiling.

"Hmm..." Cougar tapped his foot, looking thoughtful. "I'm seeing the potential for an interesting variant here."

"What do you mean?" Ryuho asked as he headed for a hall closet and started putting on his coat.

"Not counting the kids, we've got three alter users, and three non-alter users." Cougar observed. "Assuming Melissa wants to play, that is." He glanced at her, and she nodded. "So, instead of the usual two teams, we could have a three way battle."

Ryuho shrugged and turned to his wife. "Mimori, what do you think?"

"I think the two of us could beat TEN other two person teams." Mimori grinned.

"Now you're talking!" Ryuho laughed. "Tachibana, how 'bout you?"

A determined look appeared in Asuka's eye. "What, you think I'm afraid to take on two S-classes because I'm a B-class? This is a snowball fight, not an actual battle. Bring it!" He flashed a toothy smile.

"All right then, let's go!" Cougar smirked as he put his own jacket back on.

"So, wanna go watch, at least?" Kanami asked as everyone else headed outside.

Kazuma thought about it for a second. "Well... nah. We both know Cougar's going to win."

Kanami raised an eyebrow. "Oh yeah? You sure about that?"

Kazuma just looked at Kiriko's tiny, sleeping form as he thought about it. "Yeah, I'm sure. Speed is the most important thing in this contest. Plus, there's no way he's going to let himself lose in front of Melissa."

.

Cougar stood just behind the walls of his fort, staring down Ryuho, his right hand clenching and unclenching above his massive pile of snowballs. Ryuho started counting down. "Ready... get set... wait for it... not yet..."

"Start the flipping game!" Asuka shouted.

"Go!" Ryuho shouted, and several things happened simultaneously. All three alter users started forming their alters as quickly as they could, while the three ladies backed up behind their respective alter using men, relying on them to act as cover. While Cougar just assumed a defensive stance, the other two teams started hurling snowballs as rapidly as they could. Ryuho definitely had the advantage in this department, as Zetsuei's antennae hurled close to a dozen per second. However, those he lobbed at the Tachibanas just harmlessly disintegrated against Asuka's spinning Eternity Eight shield.

Those that he lobbed at Cougar, on the other hand, were simply caught and tossed back at an even greater speed, so that Zetsuei was soon too busy swatting them out of the air to launch any new ones. Melissa stared at Cougar in amazement. His torso hadn't even moved yet; the rest of him stayed stock still while his arms moved in a blur, glowing brightly with the power of the other side. He finally turned a bit to catch a snowball that Cammy had chucked at him. He grinned as he tossed it up and caught it a few times, before hurling it back so fast that no one could see it.

Cammy shrieked and dropped to the ground, but she didn't need to worry. The snowball had evaporated completely before it ever got close to her. "Cougar! Play nice!" Asuka shouted at him.

"Make me!" Cougar shouted back, keeping his eyes on Ryuho, who looked like he was waiting for someone else to make the first move.

"You asked for it!" Asuka laughed. "Eternity Eight Extra Shot!!"

"Oh hell! Get down!" Cougar shouted as he ducked down behind his snow fort, pulling Melissa with him. Peeking over the top of his fort, he saw that in addition to the eight treasure balls, several snowballs were hovering in formation along Asuka's arm as well. Then he took cover again as Asuka launched his attack, feeling the snow fort splattering all around him. "Sheesh, talk about overreacting." He complained as he stood up, brushing the snow off his jacket.

"Well, men tend to do that when their women are threatened." Melissa said quietly from behind him.

"I know, but I wasn't trying to be threatening. Just..."

"Kind of a jackass?" Melissa suggested.

"That'll work." Cougar laughed. Then, his arms became a blur again as Zetsuei launched more snowballs his way. He sent half of them back in the Tachibanas' direction, but once again, Asuka's shield deflected them all. "Melissa, we need some kind of delayed reaction attack here." He said quietly. "Why don't you start throwing them underhand, with parabolic trajectory?" He figured he wouldn't have to explain what he meant by that, since she was a college student.

"Longbow style. I gotcha." Melissa nodded. Moments later, as Asuka easily deflected another barrage with his shield, a snowball fell out of the sky at a steep angle, splattering right onto Cammy's head. Asuka belatedly angled his shield up to ward off attack from this new direction, only to be nailed under the arm by a hard throw from Cougar that knocked him over.

"Oh man, we're out of it already?" Asuka sat up with a disbelieving look on his face.

"Only because your instinct to protect me is apparently greater than your instinct to protect yourself." Cammy smiled as she put her arms around him. "Which is very sweet."

"Well..." Asuka smiled as he brushed the snow out of her hair. "I do what I can."

Now that the third faction had been removed, Ryuho was putting all of his effort into eliminating Cougar from the battle, and things seemed to be going his way. He was throwing snowballs himself now, so his side essentially had the others outnumbered three to two. Plus, Cougar's fort had been obliterated, so he had to intercept every single snowball or risk having it hit Melissa. On top of that, Scheris was loudly cheering her parents on from the sidelines, while Hiryu just stood there wide-eyed, clutching his sister's jacket while he sucked his thumb. Still, Cougar just calmly stood in one place, catching everything and hurling it back.

Then, Cougar's eyes widened as Zetsuei suddenly started darting back and forth, sending snowballs flying at him from a variety of directions. Now Cougar was having to dart back and forth as well, sometimes just smacking the snowballs out of the way instead of catching them. However, Cougar knew this was an all out attack, and Zetsuei was rapidly running through Ryuho's supply of snowballs. If he could just keep this up for about ten more seconds, victory should be his...

Then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw a snowball heading right for his head, and realized that Mimori had slipped around to the side during Zetsuei's blitz. He also knew that there wasn't a thing he could do about it, because if he actually took his eyes off Zetsuei for even of a fraction of a second, he'd be eliminated that way. No, he had to somehow win in the split second he had left before the snowball hit-

Just then, Melissa stepped forward and batted Mimori's attack out of the air, then countered with one of her own. Mimori sidestepped it, only to be plastered in the torso by a second snowball that Melissa had thrown right after the first. Instantly, Zetsuei's barrage switched to focus on Melissa. Cougar charged forward to try to deflect them all, but a few got past him, smacking Melissa in the side of the head. "Damn it! Radical Good Speed Wheels Unlimited!" Cougar zipped back over to his own nearly untouched snowball pile, then disappeared into a blurred form that sent snowballs flying at Ryuho even faster than Zetsuei could block.

As Ryuho toppled backward into a snow bank under the force of this counterattack, Zetsuei dissolved back into the air. "Crud. I failed..." Cougar kicked at the snow as the armor that had covered his legs disappeared as well.

"What are you talking about?" Ryuho asked as he stood back up. "You won!"

"Maybe, but even so..." Cougar shook his head. "Any victory that requires the sacrifice of the main heroine leaves a bitter taste in my mouth."

"Sheesh, it's just a game, Cougar." Ryuho observed as he dusted the snow off his clothes.

"True enough. Which is why I challenge you to a rematch, right now." Cougar's smirk returned as he helped Melissa up.

"You're on!" Ryuho grinned as both he and Mimori headed back to the cover of their fort.

.

"Sounds like Cougar won the first round." Kanami said, not opening her eyes.

"Mm." Kazuma agreed, not opening his eyes either.

"Hey, Kazu-kun..." Kanami forced her eyes open, but otherwise didn't move.

"Mm?" Was his incoherent response.

"I don't think it's a good idea to fall asleep holding a baby." Kanami observed.

"You're... falling asleep too." Kazuma countered.

"I... am not." Kanami mumbled, but her eyes closed again, and her head slumped forward.

Kazuma found it ironic that he could be so relaxed around a girl that he had just started dating two nights ago, and that he had made love to for the first time less than twenty four hours ago. He should be nervous as hell right now, worried about screwing the relationship up. But, he reflected, this wasn't just "a girl", this was Kanami. HIS Kanami.

He realized that his eyes were closed again, and Kanami probably WAS right that he shouldn't fall asleep holding Kiriko. There had to be some sort of baby carrier over by the Tachibanas' couch. Yes, he just needed to open his eyes and walk over there... With that thought, he was out like a light. So Kiriko was the only one who saw the otherwordly glow of the other side coming from Kanami's direction.

* * *

Kazuma found himself watching himself answer a cell phone on the front porch of his own house. It looked like it was in the fall. "Kazuma! Thank God I got ahold of you!" Urizane's voice came over the phone, and it sounded desperate.

"Don't worry, I know what's going on." Kazuma said in a rather dire tone. "And I'm going to take care of it. But who's my backup?"

"Nobody!" Urizane shouted. "Kazuma, you're IT! You're the only one!"

"What are you talking about?" Kazuma asked in a disbelieving tone. "Where's Ryuho?"

"Comatose." Urizane answered simply.

"What? Still?" Kazuma was dumbfounded.

"It's amazing enough that he's even alive!" Urizane replied.

"Fine then." Kazuma sighed. "Where's Cougar?"

"MIA." Urizane sighed as well.

"Elian One?" Kazuma was beginning to sound a little desperate himself.

"Also MIA." Urizane responded.

"Tachibana?" Kazuma asked in disbelief.

"He's conscious, but he lost a LOT of blood." Urizane reported. "He probably couldn't even get out of bed right now, never mind going up into space."

Kazuma bit his lip as the implications of this information sank in. "Urizane, I just defeated three of the enemy's aces BY MYSELF. I'm running on fumes here!"

"I know, Kazuma!" Urizane responded. "I know, but if you don't go, then we're ALL dead. You're the ONLY one who can do it! Unless..." His tone seemed to brighten. "Unless Kanami goes with you..."

"ABSOLUTELY NOT!!" Kazuma roared. "Even if the circumstances were better, I would never risk her like that!"

"She IS the most powerful alter user ever recorded." Urizane gently reminded him.

"No, no, no!" Kazuma shouted. "And Urizane, if I don't make it back... Then we never had this conversation, okay?"

"What do you mean?" Urizane sounded confused.

"I mean, the thought of having her go into space with me never crossed our minds. Got it?"

"But Kazuma, I don't see-"

"GOT IT?!" Kazuma demanded.

"Okay, got it!" Urizane sounded irritated. "But Kazuma, if you go alone, that probably means..."

"I know what that probably means." Kazuma said tightly. "How much time do I have?"

"How much time until what?" Urizane wondered.

"Until the missiles hit the point of no return." Kazuma explained through gritted teeth.

"Um... About twenty minutes, according to projections." Then, he seemed to realize what Kazuma was thinking. "Wait a minute! This isn't something to leave to chance, Kazuma! You've gotta go now!"

"No. I don't." Kazuma was about to shut the phone in anger, but thought better of it. "If I don't see you again Urizane, have a nice life. And tell Cougar I'm going to kill him in the next one."

"Wait, Kazuma! Where are you going?"

"For a walk." Kazuma said simply, then he did flip the phone shut.

.

Now, Kazuma saw himself walking through the woods near his house, with the yellow fall leaves fluttering in a light breeze. Next to him walked a little girl that Kazuma at first took to be a very young Kanami. However, he noticed that she had the same reddish brown hair and golden eyes that he did, and Kazuma realized that he had to be looking at his daughter.

"What's the matter, Papa?" She asked, looking up at the serious expression on his face.

"I hate to say it, Princess, but it looks like I'm going to miss your birthday party." Kazuma forced a smile onto his face.

"Why?" She asked simply, a distraught look appearing on her face.

"You're a smart girl, Ayase. I'm sure you've figured out that all the grown-ups around you lately wouldn't have constantly been telling you that everything is going to be fine unless they were worried that everything WASN'T going to be fine." Kazuma grinned.

"But why do you have to miss my party?" She asked, tugging on his arm, and both the Kazuma in the dream and the Kazuma watching the dream felt his heart start to ache, just a bit.

"I have to go make sure that everything really WILL be just fine." Kazuma forced the smile to remain on his face.

She seemed to think about that for a second. "Papa, why is the mainland trying to destroy us?"

Anger instantly flooded his mind, anger that his daughter would even have to ask such a question, but he forced himself to stay calm and give the most honest answer he could. "Basically, because they're afraid of us."

"Why are they afraid?" She asked innocently.

"Because... You and I were born with special powers that most people don't have. They're afraid that if we really wanted to, we could destroy THEM before they could do anything to stop us."

"But, you don't want to destroy them, do you?" She asked, sounding skeptical. She clearly didn't believe that her father was capable of such a thing.

"Only when they upset my daughter." Kazuma smiled down at her. "But in general, no, I don't want to destroy them. I just want them to leave us alone." Then, he glanced at a watch on his left hand. "Ayase, I have to tell you something that might make you very upset. But I need you to be a brave girl and listen to me, okay?"

"Okay." She said in a very small voice.

"If I don't come back-"

"Why aren't you coming back?" She instantly gasped, and Kazuma knelt down and scooped her up in a hug.

"IF I don't come back, I need you to understand something. It won't be because I don't love you, or I don't love your Mom, or because I didn't try my hardest to get back to you. It's just that sometimes there are things in life that no one can fix. Not even me." He said quietly, because he was afraid that he was about to start crying, and he didn't want to make his daughter any more upset than she already was.

"But why do YOU have to go?" She asked in a pitiful voice.

"Because I'm the only one who can." He explained patiently. "Believe me, there's nothing I'd rather do right now than go back to the house and have fun at your party. But, unfortunately, a big part of being a grown-up is having to suck it up and do things you don't want to do." He patted her back reassuringly. "I have to go now, Princess." He stood up, and she backed up several steps, as if she knew what he was about to do. He stretched both his arms out, and craters appeared in the ground on either side of him. "I have to go, because I was born with this power!" Armor quickly formed on both of his arms, and continued to form over the rest of his body. "The mainland wants me to think that it's not good, but if this power gives me the strength I need to save everyone, then there's no way it can be bad!" He turned to grin at his daughter, his eyes and mouth now the only things visible under the armor that covered his face. "Wouldn't you... agree?"

"Yeah, Papa!!" Ayase shouted, looking much happier now. "Go get those bad guys!"

Kazuma gave her a thumbs up. "You got it!" Then, the whiplike structure protruding from his right shoulder slammed into the ground, and he was suddenly rocketing skyward, encased in a blazing golden fire. In mere seconds, the sunlight of a bright autumn day was replaced by the blackness of space, and ahead of him, reflecting the brilliant, unfiltered sunlight, were missiles.

Lots of missiles. Several dozen at least. But thankfully, they were spaced fairly close together. Close enough that if he detonated one in the center of the formation, the explosion should cause those around it to detonate as well, then those explosions should take out more... If luck was on his side, he would only have to survive one nuclear explosion, and that was something he could probably do, even with his power as depleted as it was. "All right!" He clenched his fist, and the golden fire around him increased in intensity. "It was a good try, mainland, but you forgot one very important thing! I ALWAYS WIN!! SHELL BULLET-"

Then, there was a blinding light, accompanied by an incredible, unbearable heat.

After that, there was only darkness.

* * *

Kazuma blinked rapidly as he awoke. There was a soft, alter powered glow in his eyes, and for a split second, he thought it was coming from Kiriko. But then, he turned his head, and realized it was coming from Kanami. The glow faded quickly as she began to stir as well. Kanami blinked, and a frown seemed to be on her face for a second, before she smiled at him. "Sleep well?" She asked.

"I'm... not sure." Kazuma carefully moved an arm out from underneath Kiriko so he could rub his eyes.

"Oh? Why do you say that?" Kanami asked, turning to look at the Christmas tree.

"I've never had a dream that was so good and so bad at the same time." Kazuma said calmly, but instantly, Kanami's head whipped back around, an intense look on her face as her eyes met his.

"No... No..." She shook her head. "Tell me we DIDN'T have the same dream! That one felt like an actual nightmare, so I thought it was just based on my premonition earlier..."

Kazuma shrugged. "Did we have a daughter named Ayase in your dream?" He'd thought that was the good part of the dream, and focusing on that might calm her down. Unfortunately, Kanami's reaction made him wish he'd lied, or at least asked a more ambiguous question.

"No..." Kanami seemed to be trying to say something else, but it just choked off into a sob. She slid over on the couch, burying her head against his neck, tears streaming down her face.

"Oh, careful! You're gonna squish the baby girl." Kazuma warned her, trying to shift Kiriko out of Kanami's way. However, between being moved around and Kanami's distress, Kiriko woke up, and started to wail. 'Great,' Kazuma thought to himself. 'TWO crying girls to deal with. Well, better get used to it.' In most ways, Kanami was a very strong person, but she'd never been shy about crying. And if they were going to have a daughter... 'Yeah, better get used to it.' He told himself again.

"All right." Kazuma put his left arm around Kanami's shoulders. "Even if that was a genuine vision of the future, there are a couple things to consider here. First, according to pretty much every sci-fi movie I've ever seen, the future is never written in stone. A glimpse of the future is just a glimpse of one possibility."

"That's true..." Kanami sniffled.

"Second, did you actually see me die in the dream?" He smiled.

Kanami looked up at him now, surprised. "Well, no, actually. But it was definitely implied..."

"Yeah, I got that impression too." Kazuma admitted. "But, I think it's just as possible that I'm going to pull off another of my patented last-second miracles." Kiriko was still squirming a bit in his right arm, but she seemed to be settling down. "Besides, even if I knew for sure that I was supposed to die at a certain date and time, I wouldn't spend my life dreading that moment. I would meet that moment head on and smash my way through it! Just like HOLY, Mujo, and Kenjo."

"And Ryuho?" Kanami prompted.

"And Ryuho." Kazuma nodded, a grin on his face. "Besides, how could I lose knowing that you're waiting for me back home?"

Kanami smiled. "Leave it to you to turn a vision of your own explosive death into a pickup line."

That Cougar-like smirk appeared on Kazuma's face again. "Hey, I think that, by any reasonable standard, I've already picked you up."

"That you have." Kanami sniffled, then stood up. "All right, I'm gonna go check on the turkey."

"Well crud, I thought we'd at least make out a little..." Kazuma mumbled once Kanami was out of the room. "Oh well, I DO want the turkey to be moist." Suddenly, an unpleasant odor assaulted his notrils. "Oh! What the?" He looked down at Kiriko. "Is that YOU? Eesh, there's nothing else it could be. Okay..." He started heading back to the closet by the main entrance, to get his jacket. "All right kiddo, we're going to find your mom, right now."

.

At about three that afternoon, everyone was seated around the long dining room table, with Ryuho at one end, and Mr. Kiryu at the other. In the middle of the table was the traditional turkey, mashed potatos, stuffing, yams, and steamed brocolli. Plus, there was also a platter piled high with crab legs, and a gravy boat full of lemon butter next to that. Kazuma wasn't quite sure how the crab had become an annual Christmas tradition, but it definitely tasted good, so he didn't much care. Everyone was unfolding their napkins and getting ready to dig in, when he stood up. "Um... If you don't mind, I'd like to say a few words." Kazuma looked around the table.

"YOU'RE making a toast?" Ryuho raised an eyebrow. "Aren't you the guy who usually starts eating early whenever **I** make a toast?" He wondered.

Kazuma shrugged. "I usually have a low tolerance for schmaltz. But not today." He looked around the table again. "First off, Merry Christmas, everybody!" There was universal applause at this. "This is a special Christmas for a couple of reasons. First, because we're welcoming some new friends to the Lost Ground." He nodded at Melissa and Mrs. Kiryu. "Second, we're welcoming back some returning friends." Now he nodded at Kanami and Tadanori Kiryu. "Plus, we've added a new member to this extended family since this time last year." He smiled in the Tachibanas' direction.

"It may sound odd to refer to a collection of people who love to argue and give each other a hard time so much as a family, but that's exactly what we are." Now Kazuma looked down at his plate, not entirely sure where he was going with this. "You know, the one up side to growing up without a family is that you get to pick who fills that role in your life, and I couldn't have asked for a better family than everyone who's here right now, especially you, Kanami." She looked a little embarrassed by this announcement.

"The past two days have been the best forty eight hours of my life, and most of the credit for that has to go to Kanami." He grinned. "But it wouldn't have been as memorable without every single person who's sitting here right now. So..." Kazuma thought for a second. "I'll spare you any more of my babbling. Let's eat!" There was laughter all around the table at this.

As Kazuma sat down, Kanami leaned over to whisper in his ear. "Think this family will be even bigger next year?"

Kazuma shrugged. "Between all the people of reproductive age currently sitting here, I think that's a pretty safe bet."

Kanami looked down at her fidgeting hands now. "Think OUR family will be any bigger next year?"

Kazuma turned to look her in the eye. "I have no desire to be insulting when I say this, but God, I hope not."

The smile returned to Kanami's face. "Good to know we're on the same page, Kazu-kun."

"Hey, you two lovebirds gonna eat or what?" Cougar thrust the platter of crab legs in Kazuma's direction.

"Oh, we're going to eat." Kazuma grinned. "And then probably a nap, then I'm going to eat again. It's Christmas, after all."

"It sure is." Cougar grinned. "Oh, and nice speech, little brother. Nice speech."

.

(Nanaki's note: With the holiday season fast approaching, this chapter feels a lot less out of place now than if I'd written it back in June or July. You know, when I probably SHOULD have had it done. At any rate, I remain cautiously optimistic that this story will actually be finished by Christmas. Mainly because I'm getting very eager to get to work on Part Two of this Altered State trilogy, which will be called "The Right To Exist". Stay tuned for another chapter in_ relatively_ short order.)


	13. New Year's Eve

**Christmas in the Lost Ground**

**Chapter 13: New Year's Eve**

By Nanaki

_"It could be that I'm about to do the stupidest thing I've ever done, but I doubt it. Besides, I've set the stupid bar pretty darn high."_ - Kazuma, right now

* * *

Kazuma stood on the balcony in the main visitor reception area of the Tairen manor, a glass of champagne in hand, idly looking down at the crowd below. Unlike Christmas Day, which was a relatively private affair, the annual New Year's Eve party at Ryuho's usually attracted several hundred people, and this year was no exception. However, mingling was the last thing on Kazuma's mind right now. Right now, his mind was focused on what it was almost always focused on these days: Kanami.

As usual, he found it hard to keep a grin from appearing on his face as he recalled the events of the past nine days. If they hadn't gotten any farther than they had on the night of the 23rd, when Kazuma had finally told her he loved her, this would still have been the best Christmas ever, by a long shot. Instead, they had gone much, much farther than that. Plus, as if that wasn't great enough, their relationship really hadn't changed all that much. They were still the same great friends they'd been for years, except now they headed off to the same bed at the end of the night, instead of separate ones. It was only when they were alone together that the vibe changed, but it was a good change overall, Kazuma thought. As much as he loved the classic smartass Kanami, he loved the new super-affectionate Kanami who let him touch her fun stuff a lot too.

He had no idea how he was going to make it through the next three months without her.

On January 2nd, she was heading back to the mainland with Melissa, back to school. They'd talked it over several times, but when she'd finally, tearfully, told him that she really did want to go back to school, he'd played it cool. He'd said that he managed to survive waiting this long, so he could survive the wait until spring break too. However, he'd been less stoic later when he'd complained to Cougar.

"You're not going to get any sympathy from me." Cougar had shrugged. "Besides, three months should be nothing for you, compared to twenty three years."

"Yeah, but before, I didn't know exactly what it was that I was missing." Kazuma had explained. "And there was at least the possibility that I might have too much to drink and do something I'd regret."

"Well, that possibility technically still exists." Cougar had smirked.

"No way!" Kazuma shook his head vigorously. "Even if I wasn't so sure I was a one woman man, do you KNOW what she would do to me if I cheated on her?"

"Make you pull down your pants and play the drum solo from 'Wipeout' on your butt cheeks?" Cougar had ventured a guess.

"That's just the tip of the iceberg!" Kazuma laughed. "But seriously, that's a complete non-issue for me. I'm returning to a celibate lifestyle until spring break rolls around."

Now, as Kazuma took another sip of champagne, he reflected on how grateful he was that he still had another thirty six hours or so until that celibate lifestyle returned. Plus, he was about to do something that should ensure he would be getting even more action than he had been for the brief time that remained. Though that definitely wasn't his main motivation. No, his main motivation was that he was already completely, one hundred percent sure that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with Kanami, and he wanted her to know he felt that way.

However, his confidence had been shaken a bit when everyone he talked to about it had unanimously declared him to be an idiot. Cougar had bluntly asked if he was taking stupid pills. Even Mimori, who seemed to have made up her mind about who she wanted to spend her life with when she was eleven years old, had told Kazuma that he should probably wait a while.

Even so, as Kazuma absently checked his pocket yet again to make sure that the small box containing the engagement ring was still there, he couldn't shake the instinct that it just felt RIGHT. Now he spotted Kanami off in one corner of the dance floor, gabbing with Melissa about something. He started heading down the stairs, amazed to find that he didn't feel all that nervous. Then again, if he did get a negative response, he was confident that it would be accompanied by a well thought out reason, and wouldn't just be a simple "Ew, no."

He was skirting around the edges of the dance floor, and was about halfway there, when Ryuho suddenly appeared at his side, as if from nowhere. "Hey, ready to get back to work on the third?" He smirked.

"What are you talking about?" Kazuma asked absently, trying to keep his eyes on Kanami. "I haven't missed a single shift since Kanami got back."

"Only because you traded around a lot and got other people to cover for you." Ryuho reminded him.

"Which everyone seemed to be cool with, so I don't know what your problem is." Kazuma shot back, though he still wasn't looking Ryuho in the eye.

"Hey, it's not MY problem." Ryuho shrugged. "I'm just saying, you really haven't been paying attention at work, so you're lucky Kenjo hasn't reappeared, or he probably would have gotten the drop on you."

Kazuma snorted in a condescending way. "Are you seriously lecturing ME about this? Do I need to remind you about the time right after you got together with Mimori, when I had to take down an entire alter gang by myself, because you didn't get there in time?"

"That's... only because you started the operation early!" Ryuho pointed out.

"Because they were about to kill somebody!" Kazuma waved his arms. "And it was three minutes early, not thirty."

"All right, I suppose you have a point there." Ryuho grudgingly admitted.

"Anyway, I'll be ready to work my butt off after Kanami leaves, if only to keep from thinking about her every single second of the day." Kazuma nodded. "But for right now..." He stepped around Ryuho, only to discover that Kanami and Melissa had vanished from where they'd been standing until just a second ago. "You have GOT to be kidding." Kazuma grumbled.

He hurried over to the main entrance and scanned around, but didn't see anything. As he wandered toward the front door, he heard laughter coming from the kitchen, and headed over that way. As he was turning the corner, Melissa just about plowed into him, and though she managed to dodge to the side, one of the two champagne bottles she was holding swung around at just the right angle and nailed him in the crotch. Kazuma emitted a noise that sounded something like "Puh-blurgh!" and instantly dropped to the floor.

"Oh my god." Melissa tried to sound sorry, but couldn't help giggling. "Uh, Kanami!" She called out. "I think I just dented your most prized possession!"

"Melissa..." Kazuma hissed through gritted teeth. "Have you been drinking?"

"Define 'drinking'." Melissa responded cheerfully. "Well, I guess it doesn't matter, because the answer is yes." She looked to her right at the sound of approaching footsteps. "Anyway, I'll leave you in Kanami's capable hands." With that, she hurried off back toward the dance floor.

"Kazu-kun!" Kanami shrieked as she came around the corner, seeing him crumpled on the floor with both hands on his crotch. "What happened? Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Kazuma grinned, sitting up with his back against the wall. "It did hurt for a second, but... Well, she missed the sweet spot, let's put it that way."

"Ah, so you were just trying to make her feel bad?" Kanami guessed as she sat down next to him.

"Yeah, but it doesn't look like it worked." Kazuma shrugged.

"Oh, she'll apologize tomorrow." Kanami assured him. "That is, if she doesn't get so drunk that she forgets all about it."

"You've seen her like this before, I take it." Kazuma surmised.

"Oh yeah." Kanami nodded. "I mean, not all that often." She backpedaled, apparently trying to defend her friend's honor. "But a couple times, yes. After a few more drinks, she'll start trying to make out with anything on two legs, or a reasonable facsimile."

"Well, go Cougar." Kazuma smirked. Kanami started to stand back up, but he put a hand on her shoulder to keep her where she was. "Say, as long as we're alone, there's something else I want to ask you about." He said smoothly.

"Oh? What is there that we still haven't talked about?" She grinned.

"I can think of at least one thing..." A grin appeared on Kazuma's face as well. With a smooth motion, he reached his left hand into his pocket and pulled out the ring box, then snapped it open. "Kanami, will you marry me?"

"Oh my God..." Kanami's hands went to her chest. "Kazu-kun, are you serious?"

"You think I'd joke about this?" He raised an eyebrow. "I'm completely serious."

Kanami looked back and forth between the ring and Kazuma's eyes several times. "Oh my God..." She whispered again. "Oh, Kazuma... Of course I will!" With that, she threw herself into his arms. It wasn't lost on Kazuma that she had used his proper name again, and he took it as a compliment. But what Kanami said next took him by surprise. "I wasn't expecting... I didn't think... You really do love me as much as I love you!" She exclaimed, tears forming in her eyes.

"Of... course I do." Kazuma replied as he held her, somewhat puzzled by that last statement. "I thought I'd made my feelings pretty clear by now." He smiled again.

"You have, you have!" Kanami assured him. "It's just that... Oh, I don't know how to describe it. I guess I just thought that NO ONE in the world could love anyone as much as I love you."

"Well then," Kazuma smiled gently as he brushed a tear away from her eye, "You thought wrong."

Just then, they heard footsteps coming around the corner, followed shortly by Cougar's voice. "Oh boy, what'd he do?" Cougar asked right away.

"Just... everything." Kanami sniffled, earning her a rare look of puzzlement from Cougar.

"Hey Kanami, your spring break starts on March 20th, right?" Kazuma double checked.

"That's right." She nodded.

"Cougar, what are you doing on the 21st?" Kazuma asked.

"Hopefully not what I think you're about to ask me to do." Cougar took a step back, holding his hands up in defense.

"I'm about to ask you to be my best man, you jackass!" Kazuma shook his head in exasperation.

"Oh. Well that's okay." Cougar breathed a sigh of relief. "So, I take it Kanami is taking stupid pills as well." He observed.

"Well, you COULD put it that way." Kazuma admitted. "But a BETTER way to put it would be to say that this beautiful young lady has agreed to marry me."

"Hm... That does have a nicer ring to it." Cougar nodded. "Anyway, I knew she would."

"What? Then why did you say it was such a stupid idea?!" Kazuma demanded.

"Because it IS stupid!" Cougar shot back. "You two have only been a couple for... what? A week?"

"From a certain point of view." Kanami admitted. "But from MY point of view, we've already been living together for ten years."

"Exactly what I was thinking." Kazuma nodded.

"Anyway," Kanami turned back to Kazuma, "Did you just sneak a wedding date in there while I wasn't paying attention?"

"Yeah, March 21st sounds good to me." Kazuma shrugged. "You know, first day of spring! New beginnings, rejuvenation, all that crap!"

"True, but that's not a lot of time to plan a wedding." Kanami pointed out.

"Hey, it'll work out somehow." Kazuma assured her. "Because it's for you, Ryuho and President Ongola will both pull any strings that need pulling." Kanami still looked skeptical. "AND I'll ask Mimori for help." Kazuma added.

"Okay, now we're talking!" Kanami grinned. "All right, I can get a wedding dress on the mainland, and Ryuho can pick out a tuxedo for you-"

"Hey!" Kazuma objected. "What makes you think I can't pick out a good tux?"

"Because, knowing you, you'll forget about it completely until midnight on the 20th, and you'll show up in that mud-splattered rental that you had to buy." Kanami explained.

"Okay, good point." Kazuma conceded.

"As for where we're gonna have it..." Kanami trailed off. "You know what? We can talk about the details later. Right now, it's time to celebrate!" She grabbed Kazuma's right arm and hauled him to his feet. "Come on, let's go dance! But you better not step on my toes."

"No promises." Kazuma shot back, but he allowed Kanami to lead him out to the dance floor.

.

Later in the evening, as it was getting close to midnight, Melissa found Cougar up on the balcony above the dance floor. The lights had been turned down a bit, and the volume of the music had been turned up. The classy part of the evening was over, pretty much, and now it was almost all rock music being played. Right now a techno song had just started up that was clearly going to take a while to build up to the good part, so she didn't need to shout to make herself heard. "Hey, what're you doing up here all by yourself?" She asked him.

"Ah, I'm not much of a dancer." Cougar shrugged.

"Well CLEARLY, neither is Kazuma, but that isn't stopping him." Melissa pointed down at the dance floor. "But if you're self-conscious about looking like a dork, a little booze'll ail what cures you! Or something like that..."

"Are you drunk?" Cougar asked calmly.

"I sure hope so." Melissa said dramatically. "Because otherwise, this whole room is a-spinnin'!"

Cougar found himself laughing, which wasn't something that happened all that often. "Ah, Melissa, I am gonna miss hanging out with you. Things have been pretty fun since you got here."

"Yeah, I'd agree with that." Melissa smiled. "When you see stories about the Lost Ground on the news, they want you to think that any non-alter user will be killed the instant they set foot on this island. But instead, I've only seen one dangerous jerk while I've been here."

"Kenjo?" Cougar guessed.

"Yeah, him too." Melissa nodded, and Cougar laughed again.

"Ridiculous." He snorted. "The vast majority of our population is non-alter users. Though the birth rate of alter users is steadily increasing all the time."

"And what is that birth rate?" Melissa wondered, even as she put an arm on the balcony railing to steady herself.

"About eleven percent right now." Cougar replied after thinking about it for a second. "It was increasing by over one percent a year for a while there, but it seems to have leveled off a bit lately. The mainland should be relieved about that."

"But that statistic is probably skewed a little bit," Melissa looked thoughtful, "Since only one of the four most powerful alter users has had kids yet."

"Oh?" Cougar raised an eyebrow. "Who are the four most powerful alter users?"

Melissa frowned, surprised that he had to ask. "Well, Kazuma, Ryuho, Kanami, and you." She explained.

Cougar shook his head. "Well thanks, but I'm pretty sure that the eldest Elian Zigmarl is stronger than I am. If not now, then he will be soon. And Kenjo is stronger than Kanami, at least right now."

"Nah. Bad guys don't count." Melissa dismissed his statement. "Besides, there's more to it than raw power. I know that nobody on this planet can top you when it comes to speed."

Cougar smirked. "Well, that's not true for EVERY aspect of my life."

"Oh no?" Melissa raised an eyebrow.

"No, there are some areas where I like to take things nice and slow." Cougar's smirk got bigger.

"Ah, I see what you're getting at." Melissa nodded, and took a step closer to him.

"Well I hope so! I wasn't being very subtle." Cougar laughed.

"Subtlety is overrated." Melissa declared. "And on that note, I just realized I never thanked you properly for that diamond necklace you got me for Christmas."

"That wasn't very subtle either, I suppose." Cougar admitted.

"And this won't be either." Melissa grinned, then threw her arms around his neck and pulled him down into a kiss.

Cougar's eyes widened for a second, but they quickly started to close. In his head, responsibility and instinct had a quick argument. 'Hey, she's drunk! This isn't right!' Responsibility scolded him.

'But Jesus Christ, it's been damn close to a DECADE since I made out with anyone!' Instinct shot back. 'And it's been even longer since I got past first base.'

'Even so, you're supposed to be a gentleman!' Responsibility reminded him.

'Yeah, but- Good lord, this kiss is lasting a while.' He realized. 'Is she chewing on my lip? Oh my God, she's chewing on my lip, and I am LOVING it. There must be something wrong with me. No there's not, I'm a single guy.' He decided. 'You know, this would be fair if I was drunk too.' He suggested.

'Works for me!' Responsibility quickly caved.

"Wow..." Cougar looked thoughtful as their lips parted. "Where'd you get the gin? Ryuho doesn't drink hard liquor..."

"Want me to show you?" Melissa asked cheerfully.

"Yeah, what the hell." Cougar shrugged. "Let's go get hammered, AND dance like dorks. Might be fun."

"Now you're talking!" Melissa grinned, then grabbed his right arm and started pulling him down the stairs.

.

Out in the middle of the dance floor, the music had gotten soft again since it was just a few minutes until midnight, and Kazuma and Kanami were now just slowly rocking back and forth in each other's arms. "You know something, Kana-chan?" Kazuma asked softly.

"Don't call me that." She said instantly, though her voice remained quiet.

"Not even now?" Kazuma was surprised.

"Nope. That is a strictly bedroom-only nickname." Kanami informed him.

"You know, that doesn't quite seem fair." Kazuma observed dryly.

"Well, too bad." Kanami smiled. "This is one thing I'm not compromising on."

"Anyway, I just wanted to say, this has been the best year of my life, and it's all because of you." Kazuma said in that same soft voice.

"Well that's nice, but this year was just the beginning." Kanami finally opened her eyes and looked up at him. "I promise you, the next year is going to be even better."

"How could it get any better than this?" Kazuma smiled at her.

"Well, we'll finally be a family OFFICIALLY." Kanami pointed out. "We'll have at least a couple months in summer where we'll be together all the time." Now, her smile turned a bit devious. "Plus, I have a feeling that on our wedding night, it'll be later."

"Later?" Kazuma looked confused. "What'll be later? I- oh..." A look of comprehension appeared in his eyes. "You know, I might have actually been happier if you hadn't told me that. I'm gonna be turned on non-stop after you leave as it is."

"Aw, poor Kazu-kun." Kanami smirked. "But you know, I think there's something I can do to console you in the meantime."

Kazuma scanned around the room. "Where's the nearest walk-in closet?"

Kanami slipped out of his arms, but then took him by the hand. "The FARTHEST walk-in closet, you exhibitionist."

"If you insist." He shrugged. As they were moving down the hallway, they could hear the gathered crowd suddenly start counting down from ten. "Huh. Well, happy New Year, Kanami."

"Happy New Year, Kazu-kun." She turned to smile at him. "May we be together for many more."

"Oh, don't worry." Kazuma smiled warmly back. "We will be. I promise."

.

(Nanaki's note: All right, I've met my first self-imposed deadline for completing this story! Look for the next chapter on the 16th.)


	14. Meet the Yutas

**Christmas in the Lost Ground**

**Chapter 14: Meet the Yutas**

By Nanaki

Kazuma found himself a little dumbstruck as he stood at the altar, not because he was suddenly getting cold feet, but because there were literally thousands of people surrounding him. When Mimori had suggested holding the ceremony outside, it had seemed like a nice, non-denominational idea, since neither Kazuma nor Kanami were members of any particular religion. But it had also allowed anyone who wasn't on the guest list to show up anyway and crowd around the picket fence that designated the official seating area. Kazuma was surprised by how many there were, as well as how many seemed to be journalists.

'At least the weather's cooperating.' He reflected. It was sunny, though it wasn't real warm out, probably in the low 60s. However, trussed up in formal wear like he was, Kazuma didn't feel cold at all. Ryuho had picked him out a pretty good tux, he had to admit, while Mimori had pretty much taken charge of the whole operation. Though Kazuma got the impression that was probably because Kanami had asked her to. It had been a relief to him though, as he'd been unprepared for all the excruciating minutiae involved in planning a wedding. There'd been one night in early January where he and Cougar had been into their third hour of looking over centerpieces - _centerpieces_ for God's sake! - when they'd simply dumped all the catalogues in the trash and headed for a bar.

Kazuma supposed the main reason he was feeling jittery was that Cougar had absolutely forbidden him from going to the airport to pick up Kanami and Melissa this morning. "No way! It's bad luck for the bride and groom to see each other before the ceremony! Even you should know that."

"Luck?" Kazuma snorted. "When you're as consistently good as I am, you don't need luck." He'd said in a smug tone.

Cougar looked skeptical. "Yeah, but if it's bad luck just to SEE each other, it's gotta be REALLY bad luck to have sex with the bride before the ceremony."

"What?!" Kazuma sputtered. "I... would not!" He tried to sound indignant, but didn't succeed.

"Really?" Cougar raised an eyebrow. "Because over Christmas break, you two were going at it like rabbits who just got out of prison." He observed.

"Well, I... crap." Kazuma had caved pretty quick. The truth was, he'd missed Kanami so much that he probably would have been lucky if he could limit himself to just frenching her in front of the entire airport. So, though Kanami was only a few hundred feet away from him right now, he still hadn't actually seen her since January 2nd.

However, on the plus side, his name was finally going to be more than just Kazuma. They'd talked it over on the phone last night. "You know, Kazu-kun, I'd be happy to take your name, but the fact that you don't have one makes it kind of tough." She'd observed.

"Yeah, 'Mrs. The Shell Bullet' would probably look pretty silly, huh?" Kazuma admitted. "I've actually been thinking about that for a while, and the only thing that seems to make sense is for ME to take YOUR name."

"But, that's..." Kanami clearly didn't know what to say to that.

"Not traditional?" Kazuma finished her sentence. "Oh well, doesn't bother me."

"You... really want to do this, don't you?" Kanami realized.

"Sure! It'll be great to actually have more than one name. It should put an end to all the comparisons to Prince, anyway." He shrugged.

"You know, now they might just call you 'The Artist Formerly Known As Kazuma'." She pointed out.

"Ah, but since my name still IS Kazuma, that wouldn't work." He laughed.

"You really have thought this over, haven't you?" She laughed as well. "All right then, I'll see you soon, Mr. Yuta. I love you."

"I love you too." Kazuma said softly. Three months on, and he was STILL excited that he got to end their phone calls that way.

However, right now, he was excited that he wouldn't just be talking over the phone or video chatting for the near future. He was excited that he was about to stand up before his friends, coworkers, and hell, the general public too, to calmly announce his love for the person who meant more to him than anyone in the world. He was also TOTALLY going to shove cake in her face at the reception, despite what she'd threatened to do to him if he did that very thing.

Behind Kazuma, his groomsmen, or whatever the hell their official title was, were waiting much more patiently than he was. Cougar had made the incredible sacrifice of not wearing his sunglasses, and was standing up straight with his hands clasped behind his back. Ryuho was smiling out at the audience as if he thought everyone was there to see him. Kazuma had not been overly thrilled about including Ryuho in the wedding party, but he realized it would cause a pretty big stink if he didn't. Behind Ryuho, Asuka Tachibana and Elian One were also smiling out at the crowd, though Elian had his hands in his pockets, despite having been lectured on that point repeatedly by Mimori.

On the bride's side of the aisle, Mimori was the Maid of Honor, followed by Cammy Tachibana, Melissa, and one of Kanami's friends from high school whose name Kazuma still wasn't sure about. He thought it was Misuzu, but he was afraid that if he actually called her by name, it would turn out to be something entirely different. Out in the crowd, the younger Elians, Urizane, and several other LGDF members were acting as ushers. Kazuma belatedly realized that the groom's side was entirely made up of alter users, while the bride's side was entirely not, aside from Kanami herself. However, Kazuma didn't think there was any real significance to that. If anything, it showed that they didn't play favorites in who they chose to associate with.

Suddenly, the "Here Comes the Bride" music started up, and Kazuma forced his right foot to stop tapping. Behind him, Cougar started quietly singing along. "Here comes the bride... Let's hope she's not wide!" Kazuma quickly supressed the urge to punch him, for the moment, anyway. Right now, Scheris was coming down the aisle, clearly delighted with her role as the flower girl. A huge smile lit up her face as the crowd was obviously enthralled with the mess she was making. But now Kazuma looked past Scheris and finally got a look at Kanami.

She looked incredible. Not that she ever didn't, of course, but some wedding dresses were a lot more flattering than others, and this one definitely fell into the "a lot more flattering" category. It was fairly intricate, but without being so detailed that it detracted attention from the actual bride. Since Kanami didn't have a father to walk her down the aisle, President Ongola was filling that role. It seemed to take them forever to make it all the way down the aisle, though it actually took less than a minute. Finally, she was kissing the president on the cheek, and then they were face to face again, at long last. Though it went against protocol, Kazuma couldn't help sneaking in a quick greeting. "How've you been?" He asked quietly.

"Lonely." She said simply. But then she winked at him and grinned, indicating that she knew he'd rectify that situation soon enough. Then the priest began speaking, and the next twenty minutes or so passed by in a blur for Kazuma. Finally, the priest got to the part he'd been waiting for.

"The couple has prepared their own vows." He announced. "God, this is always death." He mumbled as he stepped back from the microphone, though a smile remained on his face. Kazuma shot him a skewed glance, but quickly launched into the speech, which he knew by heart.

"Kanami, it is an honor and a privilege to be your husband." He began.

"Kazuma, I'm proud and grateful to be your wife." Her smile mirrored his own. "We've known each other since we were just kids. So we know all the good stuff..."

"And the not so good stuff." Kazuma finished. "Though in your case, there's really not much of the latter." He ad-libbed. "Any wedding is a special event, but for two people who grew up without any family, the impact is hard to overstate."

"But in a sense, we've already been a family for a long time," Kanami continued, "because you've always been right there by my side." That was the line that tore at Kazuma's heart the most, because it wasn't really true. But Kanami had insisted on saying it just like that.

"Kanami, you once told me that if it wasn't for me, you probably would have died a long time ago. But the same is true for me. I think God saw that I was about to die a violent, pointless death at age thirteen, and he sent a guardian angel to watch over me." His smile got even broader now. "Lucky for me, she stuck around."

"When I was all alone in the world, and afraid for my life every day, God sent me a protector, a hero who would never fail me." Kanami looked like she was on the verge of tears now. "A hero who's always honest to the point of rudeness, who's always loyal to those he cares about, and who loves me unconditionally, no matter what the situation."

The priest stepped back up to the microphone, shrugging and making a gesture with his hand, as if to say, "not bad". "All right, do you have the rings?"

Kazuma turned to see Hiryu trotting down the aisle, proudly holding up a red pillow. A red pillow, that, on closer inspection, had absolutely nothing resting on top of it. Hiryu stopped a few feet away, then looked up at his mother, apparently confused. "Um..." Kazuma scratched his head, then turned to Mimori. "Should I ask, or do you want to ask?"

"Hiryu, honey, where are the rings?" Mimori asked gently. Kazuma figured it would take a little while to get an answer, since Hiryu didn't really know how to talk yet. To his surprise, they got an answer right away, when Hiryu opened his mouth wide, then pointed to it.

Behind Kazuma, Ryuho was doing his best not to laugh out loud, and was failing miserably. "Go ahead and laugh while you can, Ryuho." Kazuma grinned. "Because guess who's in charge of RECOVERING those rings when they reappear?"

"Um..." The priest looked like he didn't know quite what to do. "Shall I continue?"

"Oh yes." Kanami turned back to face him. "It wouldn't be a special occasion if everything went according to plan, right?" She smiled at Kazuma.

"That sounds right for this crew." Kazuma agreed. "Though why our PLAN included trusting a toddler with over ten grand worth of-"

"Kazu-kun!" Kanami elbowed him in the ribs. "Please, continue." She nodded at the priest.

He adjusted his glasses, then peered at a note card resting on the podium. "Kanami Yuta, do you take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband, in sickness and in health, in richness and in poorness- 'Poorness' is underlined... and vow to stand by his side whether he's making a nice dinner at home or blasting across the alkali flats in a rocket powered, monkey navigated..." He turned the note card over, then raised his eyebrows. "And it goes on like this."

Kanami let out a snort as she struggled to supress a laugh. "Yes, I do."

The priest turned to Kazuma. "Kazuma the Shell Bullet, do you take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife, to love and to cherish, as long as you both shall live?" He picked up a second note card. "And do you promise to always come racing to her rescue if she needs it, just as you've always done before?"

"Yes," Kazuma nodded solemnly, "I do."

"In that case," the priest smiled, "I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride."

"You got it!" There was a rogueish grin on Kazuma's face as he lifted Kanami's veil and tilted his head down. The crowd was going nuts, and cameras were flashing from just behind the picket fence, but all that was on Kazuma's mind was how incredible Kanami's lips tasted after nearly three months without them. He wanted nothing more than to just scoop her up and fly off back to his bedroom, but he had a feeling he'd never hear the end of it from Mimori if he did that. Instead, he simply lingered a bit longer than he probably should have, then turned back to the crowd with a smile on his face.

"I now have the honor of presenting to you," the priest gestured, "Mr. and Mrs. Kazuma Yuta!" There was a bit of confused murmuring at this, but the crowd started applauding again when Kazuma flashed everyone a thumbs up with his gloved hand. "All right, we'll see you all the reception in one hour." The priest announced. "I just have a couple announcements from the restaurant. Don't park in the alley or you'll get towed, and they also want to remind you that they are not responsible for red tide poisoning..."

As Kazuma and Kanami started walking back up the aisle together, Ryuho picked up Hiryu. "All right son, high five!" He whispered, though not very quietly, and Hiryu obediently slapped his upright palm.

"You know, Ryu-kun..." Kanami turned back around to face him. "One of these days, something really embarrassing is going to happen to YOU. It HAS to."

Ryuho stared her down for a second, before a smile returned to his face. "Nah, I'm gonna be just fine. But, ah, let's get going to the reception, huh?"

Kazuma shrugged. "Just be sure to boil the hell out of those rings when you find them, then run them through the dishwasher about a dozen times, and it should be fine."

"No problem." Ryuho nodded. "I'll even do my best to keep Hiryu from eating them again!"

"Oh, that's reassuring." Kanami groaned. "But you're right, let's get to the reception."

.

Six hours later, Kazuma and Kanami collapsed into the chairs at their table, finally back in their regular clothes. The restaurant in the city they'd booked for the reception had a very nice courtyard set up for occasions like this, complete with a decently sized stage for dancing, and it had been a pretty nice reception. However, they hadn't really gotten to relax and enjoy it, since everybody had been eager to congratulate them at great length and subtly ask Kazuma for favors while they were at it. Kanami had never completely realized just how important a member of the LGDF Kazuma was, though she should have figured it out from the unexpectedly huge pile of wedding presents.

On the plus side, though Kazuma had shoved the wedding cake in her face, she'd managed to dump her own piece of cake down his pants, thereby ensuring that he now owned TWO tuxedos with odd stains. 'Though I guess I should say, WE own two tuxes with odd stains.' She reflected. Most of the guests had gone home now, and so they'd finally been able to order dinner for themselves, while Mimori was doing her best to make sure no one bothered them.

"Well..." Kazuma wiped his mouth as he polished off his entree, "Between the crowds, self-penned vows, and the rings currently passing through Hiryu's large intestine, that was one of the more entertaining weddings I've seen."

"I can't argue with that." Kanami nodded. "Although, how many other weddings HAVE you seen?" She wondered.

"Um..." Kazuma thought about it for a second. "Just Ryuho and Mimori's, I guess." Asuka and Cammy had gotten married quickly and cheaply at City Hall, without a lot of fuss.

"Yeah, same here." Kanami looked thoughtful for a second, before she turned to face Kazuma. "So, did you get a hotel room, or are we just going to head home and try to soundproof the bedroom door?" She asked mischeviously.

"Oh, I got a hotel room." Kazuma said nonchalantly as he reached for another roll. "It'll take a little while to get there, though."

"What?" Kanami looked confused. "There's not one spot in this city that takes more than ten minutes to drive to from any other." She pointed out.

"I know, but it's not in this city. It's in New York City." Kazuma replied calmly.

Kanami looked at him like she didn't believe it for a while, but then a puzzled look appeared on her face when no punchline was forthcoming. "How is that possible?" She frowned.

"Oh, President Ongola arranged it for us." Kazuma shrugged.

Kanami regarded him with a doubtful expression for a few more seconds, but as a grin began to creep across his face, her eyes widened in astonishment. "Oh my God... Kazu-kun, you're not kidding, are you?" His grin broadened as he shook his head. "We're really going to New York?!" She gasped.

"Not just New York!" Kazuma finally sounded excited as well. "We've got official permission from the US President to go anywhere in the United States, including Alaska and Hawaii!"

"Ah! Kazu-kun, you're incredible!" Kanami jumped out of her own chair and into his lap. "But... I have to be back at school in a week." She realized. "That's nowhere near enough time to see everything."

"Well, under normal circumstances, it wouldn't be." Kazuma smirked. "So it's a good thing you've got your own, personal supersonic jet, isn't it?"

Kanami let out a laugh of pure joy. "Yes, it is. So when are we going?" She was practically bouncing up and down with excitement, not that Kazuma minded at all.

"Are you finished eating?" Kazuma asked calmly.

"I am now!" She responded.

"Then grab your suitcase, and we're outta here!" Kazuma stood up.

"But... Isn't it the middle of the night in New York right now?" Kanami observed.

"Yeah, but it's okay. It's 'the city that never sleeps' after all. I called ahead, and we can check in whenever we want." He started to put his jacket on. "Oh, and it's up to you how fast you want to get there. If we stay in the atmosphere, it'll take about four hours, but if I go up to space, I can probably get us there in about a half hour."

"Hmm..." Kanami thought it over, remembering the somewhat less than relaxing reentry from their last trip up to space. But in the end, the prospect of traveling over 9,000 miles in a half hour was just too cool to pass up. "All right, let's go to space!" She looked around for a moment. "Should we tell everyone we're leaving?"

"Nah." Kazuma waved that concern aside. "They'll figure it out soon enough. Besides, something tells me Cougar and Melissa won't mind having the house to themselves for a week."

.

Kanami looked out over the island of Manhattan from one hundred ten stories up, completely in awe of what she saw. Even in the dead of night, there were so many lights on that you couldn't really call it dark, and the streets were still fairly packed with cars. Kazuma was in the shower now, "getting what remains of the frosting off". Kanami hadn't offered to join him in there, because of two things they had discovered while in the shower together back during Christmas break. One, at any given time when two people were in the shower, one of them wasn't getting hit with much water, and that person was freezing their butt off. Two, water was really a pretty crappy lubricant, as far as that went. Besides, now that they were actually alone, she was getting pretty nervous about the news she had to give him.

On that thought, she heard the sound of running water coming from the bathroom stop. Shortly after that, Kazuma emerged from the bathroom wearing nothing but the towel wrapped around his waist. "So, we've got the public part of the wedding day over with..." He observed. "Now comes the part just for us." He put his hands on her shoulders.

"Kazuma, there's something I have to tell you." She said, not turning around, but instead meeting his gaze where his eyes were reflected in the window. "And you're probably going to be pretty mad that I didn't tell you before now, but... I guess I just didn't want to spoil the moment when you first saw me again after three months."

Kazuma braced himself for the worst. Just the fact that she had used his real name told him this was something pretty serious. He was guessing that she'd gotten drunk at a college party, and had been kissed by someone who was also pretty drunk. If that was the case... Well, he wouldn't be HAPPY, that was for damn sure, but he wouldn't be TOO angry. Drunk people did stupid things, after all. "All right then," he said gently, "I'm listening."

"Kazuma..." Kanami turned around, forcing herself to look him in the eye. Her mind raced for a way to break the news gently, but ultimately, she just had to tell him. "I'm pregnant."

Kazuma's jaw dropped, then closed quickly again, and clenched. Kanami could tell that "Shit!" would have been the first thing out of his mouth, if he hadn't taken a long, deep breath before responding. "That... That's wonderful." He said softly, forcing a smile onto his face that quickly disappeared. "And... that's terrible." He said, even softer.

"I know what you mean." Kanami forced a soft smile to appear on her face as well.

"I... I'm sorry, Kanami." Kazuma whispered into her hair as he folded her up into a hug.

"You don't have anything to be sorry about, Kazu-kun." Kanami sniffled as she hugged him back. "It was technically my idea, remember?"

"Oh yeah. There's no way I'll ever forget that night." Kazuma smiled for real now. "I just wanted you all to myself, for a couple years at least."

"Yeah, I felt the same way." Kanami nodded. "But even so, I can't see myself doing anything to... reverse the situation."

"No, I feel the same way." Kazuma agreed. "Our own genetic material probably worked against us here." At Kanami's questioning look, he elaborated. "We're both the last surviving member of our families, as far as we know. Our DNA was probably desperate to be passed on."

"Probably." Kanami nodded. "So... we're going to be parents in about six months."

"You know..." Kazuma looked thoughtful. "That puts your due date right around when your sophomore year starts."

"I know." Kanami sighed. "I haven't decided what I'm going to do about that yet."

"Well..." Kazuma squeezed her again. "Whatever you want to do, I'm sure we can find a way to make it work. And on the plus side... Now we're a family legally AND literally." Now his voice dropped to a whisper. "And those condoms I bought were a freaking waste of money." He said, mainly to himself. "Not that I'm complaining." He grinned as Kanami looked up at him and raised an eyebrow.

"Well, I should hope not." Kanami slipped out of his grasp, then started pushing him over toward the bed. "Because on top of everything else, it's later."

"Good God." Kazuma groaned happily as he sank down into the incredibly soft bedspread. Meanwhile, Kanami was throwing her clothes off with a reckless abandon. "Despite the difficulties we're going to face, I am the luckiest guy in the world, Kana-chan."

"You got that right." Kanami grinned deviously as she straddled him, running her hands along his pecs. "Yet even so, Kazu-kun, you're not nearly as lucky as I am." With that, her lips met his, and there was no more talking for quite a while.

.

(Nanaki's note: All right, my second self-imposed deadline has been met! There's just one more chapter and an epilogue to go, so I'm now very confident that this story WILL be finished by Christmas. In fact, I'm going to do something I virtually never do, and PROMISE that the epilogue will be up for you to read on Christmas morning.

At any rate, I didn't realize until I started this chapter that I actually hadn't been to a wedding in over ten years. Plus, my cousin Chris' wedding in the spring of 1999, while awesome (A four hour yacht cruise around San Francisco Bay, with new food coming out of the ovens about every fifteen minutes), didn't really adhere to the standard wedding formula (There's not really an aisle on the bow of a yacht). So, I probably haven't been to a traditional church wedding since around... 1992, I'm guessing. As a result, I fell back on a lot of TV shows for this one. Bonus points for anyone who can list all the various Simpsons, That '70s Show, Seinfeld, and Mystery Science Theater 3000 references in this chapter. Plus, look for Chapter 15 on December 21st, a mere five days from now.)


	15. The Long Flight Home

**Christmas in the Lost Ground**

**Chapter 15: The Long Flight Home**

By Nanaki

_"I just want to see my Kazu-kun again!"_ - Kanami Yuta, Age 12

* * *

Kanami let out a long sigh as she sank down into one of the endless rows of seats at Osaka-Kansai International Airport. It was ten in the morning on June 9th, and she was still tired from yesterday. Three of her four finals had taken place yesterday, with two in the morning back to back. She wasn't even sure why she had bothered to take the finals, since she was pretty sure she wasn't coming back, but it just wasn't in her nature to simply give up. So, she was exhausted mentally, and she wasn't doing much better physically. Despite Melissa's assurances that she wasn't showing much for someone who was nearly six months pregnant, she sure FELT pretty big, and she wasn't sleeping well at night. She had always preferred to sleep on her stomach or side, but now it seemed that she could only get comfortable lying on her back. Yet, it took her forever to actually fall asleep that way, and she tended to wake up frequently during the night.

So, even as tired as she'd been last night, it had taken her several hours to fall asleep, and she'd ended up watching late night talk shows until the wee hours. Part of the problem was that she'd been all alone in her room, since there was a rule that everyone who wasn't staying for summer session had to be out of the dorms within twenty four hours of their last final. So, Melissa had headed back to the United States several days ago to spend some time with her parents, or so she said. At first, Kanami had thought she'd be glad to have the room to herself, but she'd gotten very lonely very quickly. Of course, talking to Kazuma on the phone always helped, but she missed the physical contact between them so badly she couldn't really describe it.

'At least that's almost over now.' A slight smile appeared on her face at the thought. Even after her wedding ring had reappeared following its journey through Hiryu's digestive system, she had told Kazuma not to bother sending it over, since she couldn't wear it here. If someone was keeping tabs on her, it would quickly become apparent that her husband wasn't here on the mainland, and that could have led to uncomfortable questions about who she was married to back on the Lost Ground. That was probably another reason she wasn't really happy here anymore. She wasn't embarrassed about her marriage, she was proud. VERY proud, yet she had to keep it a secret, because it would be dangerous not to.

'Enough of that.' She scolded herself. By the end of the day, she would be with her Kazu-kun again, and all would be right with the world. Still, now that their reunion was so close, every second she spent waiting was pure agony. Another sigh escaped from her as she tilted her head back, and she became aware that she was staring at a monitor turned to one of the news stations, though the sound was off.

To her surprise, no sooner had she looked up, then the image onscreen flicked to a view of two humanoid figures rocketing through the air over the ocean at a low altitude, but a very high speed. Whoever was shooting the footage was clearly having trouble keeping them in the frame, but Kanami only needed a glimpse to recognize Kazuma and Ryuho. They were clearly flying over the water between the Lost Ground and the mainland, though they seemed to be running parallel to the shore, not heading directly toward it. Yet with the speed they were moving at, they were definitely chasing something. Then, the footage switched, and Kanami was left wondering what that had all been about.

"Man, those guys are scary!" The voice of a young man reached her ears. Kanami looked to her left to see three guys about her own age staring up at a different monitor.

"Scary, but cool." A second one said. "You have to admit, it'd be pretty badass to be able to fly like that."

"Yeah, but that's not all they can do." The one who had spoken first cringed. "They all have different powers, and they can summon walking suits of armor, control the elements, and move super-fast. A few of them can even read minds."

"Read minds?" The second one scoffed. "Don't tell me you've bought into that ESP crap!" A smile appeared on Kanami's face at this.

"No, he's right." The third member of the group spoke up. "And they can do more than just read minds. They can get inside your head and make you do whatever they want."

"No way." The second one shook his head, though he sounded a lot less sure of himself now.

"Well at least if you're doing their will, they probably won't kill you." The first one observed.

"There is that." The third one nodded. "Although that one with the armored fist would probably punch you in half if you looked at him wrong." Kanami was biting her lip to keep from yelling at them now.

"Man, all the leaders of the LGDF are scary." The first one agreed. "But yeah, that one who punches everything is the worst."

"That would be a terrible way to go." The second one admitted. "If you got blown up or had your head cut off, at least it would be over quick. But getting hit with a rock-solid fist, you'd probably die from internal bleeding." Kanami was biting her tongue now, even as she glared at them.

"They all need to be destroyed." The third one declared, causing the other two to look at him in surprise. "Or they'll eventually replace us as the dominant species on this planet." He calmly elaborated.

"You make it sound like they're not human." The second one said in surprise.

"They AREN'T human." The third one insisted. "And-"

'Shut up! Shut up!! SHUT UP!!!' Kanami screamed in her thoughts. However, when all three started to look around in surprise, Kanami realized she hadn't been keeping a real tight reign on her mind. However, she didn't much care. 'I have had enough of you STUPID, IGNORANT mainlanders!' She continued to yell at them, though she clamped down on her thoughts enough to be sure that no one else would be able to hear. The three were frantically looking around now, trying to figure out where the voice in their heads had come from, but Kanami was far from the only young woman in the waiting area. She turned her gaze back to the monitor, even as she simmered with anger. 'I'll have you know, if not for the love of that man with the armored fist, who you seem to think is such a monster, all three of you would have been knocked the fuck out already. Instead, you guys are going to spend the next half hour doing a chicken dance around the airport with your shirts off. And if you miss your flight because of that, too damn bad.'

It took a lot of concentration to arrange that without giving off an alter glow, but soon enough, the trio got up, flung their shirts to the floor, and took off toward the nearest food court while spastically flapping their arms. Kanami had expected to feel a vindictive sense of satisfaction from that, but found that she was on the verge of tears instead. 'Stupid hormones.' She complained to herself. 'Stupid mood swings.' She let out another long sigh. 'Stupid EVERYTHING! Damn it!' She suddenly found herself childishly wishing that Kazuma would come flying into the airport in a blaze of glory to pick her up. That way, she'd be back home in about twenty minutes, instead of six flipping hours.

'All right, calm down.' She told herself, taking a deep breath. She closed her eyes, and forced herself to focus on a good memory. Specifically, the way Kazuma had looked walking out of the surf on that black sand beach in Maui during their honeymoon, with the tropical sun glistening on his soaking wet form... 'Much better.' She nodded appreciatively. Thankfully, the call for her flight to begin boarding was announced over the PA system. Kanami took one last look at the mainland outside the airport's huge windows, then walked toward the boarding ramp without any hesitation.

.

Late that afternoon, Kanami walked down the boarding ramp at Adjani Memorial Airport feeling more tired and cranky than she could ever remember feeling. The food on the plane had stunk, but her layover in South Korea had been too short for her to have time to get something decent to eat. She'd managed to lose the book she'd been reading somewhere under her seat, not that she'd been able to get much reading done anyway, since she'd ended up squished in the middle of a family with several screaming kids on the outbound leg of the flight.

However, a real smile appeared on her face as she stepped into the waiting area and saw Kazuma leaning again a support pillar with his hands in his pockets. It was a hot day outside, so he was wearing a Hawaiin shirt with the top couple of buttons undone. "Hey." A warm grin lit up his face as he spotted her. "Welcome home."

"It's good to be back." Kanami nodded, then wrapped her arms around him and nuzzled her head against his shoulder. "Where's the rest of the gang?" She asked, looking around.

"It's just me." Kazuma shrugged. "We had a little dustup with Kenjo yesterday, so just about everybody's at work."

"But not you?" Kanami raised an eyebrow.

"Not me. Ryuho just wanted to send a limo to pick you up and take you back to the house, but I made a... thoroughly impolite response to that." He laughed.

"That's good." Kanami buried her head against his shoulder again. "Because I don't know how I held it together even this long." With that, tears started streaming down her face, and a somewhat mystified Kazuma could only hold her as she cried.

"Kanami, what's wrong?" He prodded, gently rubbing her back.

"Nothing, now." She sniffled. "It's just... Kazuma, I'm so sorry! I missed you so much..."

"Well, words can't even describe how much I missed you. Both of you." He smiled as his left hand drifted down toward her belly, but that just seemed to make her cry harder. "Okay, what say we go get you a double bacon cheeseburger?" He suggested, since she'd recently told him that was her new favorite food.

"I'll be fine." She assured him, starting to wipe at her tears. "It's just that seeing you again after so long is a little overwhelming."

"Tell me about it." Kazuma agreed. "I'm so turned on right now, it's almost scary." He whispered, and Kanami laughed. "At least this time, we've got several months to spend together. Your last couple visits were WAY too short."

"No, we don't." Kanami shook her head, and Kazuma's expression instantly turned to one of alarm. "We have the rest of our lives to be together." She informed him.

"Don't DO that!" Kazuma scolded her, and she laughed again. "I take it that means... you've decided not to go back?" He surmised, trying not to sound too happy about it, though he was.

"I never should've gone back after Christmas break." Kanami sighed. "And I don't think I can spend another three years only being your wife during vacations."

"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't happy to hear that." Kazuma finally let her out of his grip, but took her by the hand as they started walking toward the baggage claim area. "But if you change your mind later, that's fine. You deserve to do whatever you want to do in life."

"I appreciate the sentiment, Kazu-kun, but I pretty much have to skip fall term anyway. I'm not about to stagger onto a plane thirty six hours after giving birth in order to get to class on time. And that's assuming the baby's birthday DOES end up being the same as mine, which is far from a certainty. It could be more towards the end of September, or maybe even in the first couple days of October."

"Could be." Kazuma admitted. "But I get the feeling the damage was done on Christmas Eve. I was just saying, there are ways to work it out. Cougar and I could rearrange our schedules so that at least one of us is home most of the time, and we've got the money to hire a nanny."

Kanami shook her head. "No offense, but I'm not leaving my baby girl solely in the care of you and Cougar."

"Girl?" Kazuma turned to her in surprise, and Kanami belatedly realized she hadn't told him about that yet. "I thought you told the doctors not to tell you the gender."

"I did." Kanami nodded. "But, I figured it out anyway. I can sense her mind." She smiled, preemptively answering Kazuma's next question. "She's not really self-aware yet, but she's there, and definitely a her."

"Wow..." Next, Kazuma asked the question Kanami had been asking herself for a while now. "Do you think she's the Ayase from our dream?"

Kanami wanted to say no, but Kazuma was becoming more and more adept at figuring out when she was lying. "Yeah, I do." She said quietly. "At least, based on a few dreams I've had lately, I think so."

"Well, at least that'll take the worry out of the next one." Kazuma tried to lighten the mood.

"Next one?!" Kanami shook her head. "Not for a WHILE, okay Kazu-kun? After she's born, we seriously need to start using birth control. All the time."

"Yeah, I know." He nodded. "Though I like the implications of the way you said 'all the time'." He grinned.

"Sheesh," Kanami groaned, "I can tell there's only one thing on your mind right now."

"True enough." Kazuma admitted. "I know you're not supposed to have sex during the third trimester of pregnancy, so that pretty much leaves the next two weeks."

"You've got a point there." Kanami nodded, now looking out the windows. There were still several hours before it got dark, and it was a glorious day, without a cloud in the sky. "What do you say we drop off my stuff at the house, then hit the beach?"

"The beach?" Kazuma raised an eyebrow. "We'll have sand in our underwear on the drive back to the house." He warned.

"I'll risk it." Kanami shrugged. "I want to go back to the place... where you would have told me you loved me, if I hadn't gotten so stinking drunk."

"Ah, you figured that out, did you?" Kazuma looked a little sheepish.

"Well, it was fairly obvious in retrospect." Kanami grinned at him. "Wow, you know, I just got back, and I already feel WAY better."

"I imagine coming home can have that effect." Kazuma nodded.

"That helps, but it's mainly because you're here." Kanami stood up on tiptoe to kiss him on the cheek. "I belong here, with you, right by your side. And I'll always be there from now on. I promise."

"And I'll always be with you, no matter what some dream has to say about the future." Kazuma circled his left arm around her waist. "I promise."

.

(Nanaki's note: Boy, assigning myself arbitrary deadlines has really worked out well. I may have to continue with this "one chapter every five days" bit once I get back from vacation. Well, after I beat Mass Effect 2, anyway. I can pretty much guarantee that most of my free time in February will be spent on that game. At any rate, in regards to Senorita Lucha's question concerning red tide poisoning: It's been a while since high school biology, so I forget the specifics of the science behind it. But basically, a "red tide" is when there's an overabundance of algae in the ocean, that results in shellfish like clams and mussels becoming poisonous, even after they've been cooked. That was one of several Simpsons references in chapter 14, by the way. (And yes, I tried to find a way to work in: "You fat cats didn't finish your plankton! Now, it's mine!" But I just couldn't seem to find a reason to use it.) Anyway, look for the conclusion of the story on Christmas Day, and looked for Part Two of the Altered State trilogy to appear in March or April.)


	16. Epilogue

**Christmas in the Lost Ground**

**Epilogue**

By Nanaki

Kazuma had begun to wonder if there would come a time when he was no longer constantly, jaw-droppingly amazed by everything he and Kanami did together. If one day he would wake up and realize the more intimate parts of their relationship were now just as routine as the way they still constantly joked around with each other.

Today was not that day.

Today, Kazuma was holding his newborn daughter in his arms, and he was feeling more than a little overwhelmed. Kanami was propped up in the bed next to him, still awake, but more than a little tired. She had refused any drugs for the event, but then, she didn't need any, since she had simply used her alter to kill all feeling below her arms. Even so, it had clearly still been exhausting, and the way Kanami had winced and gritted her teeth when she restored the feeling to her lower body just a few minutes ago had caused him to silently vow that they would not be doing this again for a long time, if ever.

Several people had suggested that he record the birth for posterity, but he had ultimately decided against it, and now he was very glad he had. This pretty much had to be the most embarrassing event of Kanami's entire life, what with all the medical personnel that had been busy at work between her legs, combined with the involuntary pooping. On top of that, the end result had almost seemed like something out of a horror movie, at least to Kazuma. Watching a bloody, shrieking little human being with a squished skull emerge from the woman he loved might have been the most horrifying thing he'd ever witnessed.

Kazuma let out a low groan as he sank into the chair next to Kanami's bed, trying to get the image out of his mind, and not succeeding. "Aw, did you have a tough day today, Kazu-kun?" Kanami teased him. "Come on, you knew what it was going to be like. You sure talked to Ryuho about it enough. And I know he wouldn't have sugar-coated it for you."

"I know, I know." Kazuma forced a smile onto his face. "But knowing the dry facts is one thing. Seeing it happen hits your brain at a much more primitive level."

"You can say that again." Kanami winced once more as she slightly shifted her position on the bed. "I've never seen so much of my blood outside of my body." She closed her eyes for a second, but then looked over at Kazuma. "How's she doing?"

"Well, about the same as when you handed her to me forty seconds ago." Kazuma smiled. "Rest already. I know you didn't get much in the way of sleep last night."

"True enough." Kanami responded even as she yawned. "What time is it, anyway?"

Kazuma looked out the window. The sun had just gone behind the mountains to the west, but daylight was still visible on the ocean. "Somewhere between six and seven, I'd guess."

"Huh?" Kanami looked confused. "What happened to your watch?"

"Oh, you broke it." Kazuma answered easily.

"I did?" Kanami was surprised. "When was this?"

"At the same time you were yelling that I'd never touch you again." Kazuma's smile dimmed a bit now. This had been during a contraction, BEFORE Kanami had used her alter to deaden her own nerve endings.

"Oh." Kanami shrugged. "Well, I didn't mean that. Not really. No, we're going to..." The rest of her sentence dissolved into an unintelligible mumble as she drifted off to sleep.

Kazuma looked down at his daughter again. She was also sleeping peacefully, thankfully. Now cleaned up and wearing standard baby clothes, she looked much more presentable, though her head still looked kind of freaky. Kazuma knew it could be a couple of days before the bones of her skull slid into a more normal shape. Mostly though, Kazuma was just awed by the responsibility that literally rested in his arms. For the next eighteen years, he was going to be completely responsible for this little life, and she was going to remain a major part of his life until the day he died. He turned over to regard Kanami's sleeping form for a second. Kanami had just turned nineteen four days ago; she was barely grown up herself, though she definitely didn't act like it. "Sorry I put you through this so early." Kazuma whispered.

Then his gaze returned to his daughter. "Sorry you ended up with a couple of clueless kids as parents." He smiled a bit. "But we'll do the best we can. Welcome to the world, Ayase. Hopefully it'll be a better place by the time you're grown up, so the biggest problem I'll have to worry about is restraining my urge to punch your boyfriend if he doesn't have you home by curfew." Kazuma felt a new wave of apprehension shoot through his gut as he pictured Ayase as a teenager. "But, do me one favor, okay? Don't grow up too fast." Kazuma turned to look out the window again. He was very hungry, he was tired himself, and he had to go to the bathroom. But somehow, he didn't want to break up this peaceful scene. Instead, he simply watched the light of the sunset as his daughter slept in his arms, and Kanami slept right next to him. All was right with the world.

* * *

_"I was... I was dreaming. The person in my dream was happier than he'd ever been before, and it was all because of me. The two of us... had created a new life, and death no longer seemed to hold any sway over us. It was a very intense, very exhausting, and very beautiful dream. And I kept on dreaming... forever. Forever..."_

The End (Of this story.)

But Kazuma and Kanami will return in THE RIGHT TO EXIST!

.

"Nothing... I need nothing, other than him. If there's a path he should take, I'll light the way. If there are rocks in front of him, I'll turn them to dust. I will be a shield for him. I will use my body, and my spirit. He is the reason... why I exist in this world." - Scheris Adjani, _s-CRY-ed_

.

CREDITS IN THE LOST GROUND

So, Christmas in the Lost Ground is now complete. This is actually the first story I've finished--not just the first fanfic, but the first story of any kind--since What Makes A Hero at the end of 1998. Oh, I've STARTED plenty of stories since then, but somehow, I just haven't gotten very far with most of them. Tempo Trigger has been in production continuously since the summer of 1998, but given that I'm working on Chapter 61 now, and that it's probably going to go to AT LEAST 125 chapters, it's clearly going to be in production for several more years, at least.

So, this was a special story for a couple of reasons. It was kind of my first anime fanfiction in nine years. It wasn't the first one I'd started working on since Relena's Hero, but it did end up being the first one I posted up. This story is very different in tone from most of my other works, which tend to take themselves pretty seriously and are usually crammed full of action from start to finish. Plus, when I started out, I thought this story was going to be a fairly short one, similar in length to Trials of the King or What Makes A Hero. When you look at the number of chapters, I suppose it's not too different, but when you look at the actual word count... BIG difference. Forget The Origin of Mount Woe, this thing is almost as long as The Aftermath of Mount Woe! That's just crazy. Finally, this story was probably one of those that wouldn't have been finished, if not for the fan response. A look at the original completion dates of the chapters is quite revealing here:

Chapter 1: Daydreams - July 10th, 2006  
Chapter 2: The Last Night - July 14th, 2006  
Chapter 3: The Recurring Dream - July 15th, 2006  
Chapter 4: Kanami's Surprise - August 2nd, 2006  
Chapter 5: A Bit of the Old Ultraviolence - August 7th, 2006  
Chapter 6: The Truth At Last - November 22nd, 2006  
Chapter 7: A Few Firsts - May 29th, 2008  
Chapter 8: They're Up to Something - November 8th, 2008  
Chapter 9: Space is the Place - March 20th, 2009  
Chapter 10: Kazuma's Present - March 27th, 2009  
Chapter 11: Anxiety in the Afterglow - September 3rd, 2009  
Chapter 12: Christmas Day - November 12th, 2009  
Chapter 13: New Year's Eve - December 10th, 2009  
Chapter 14: Meet the Yutas - December 15th, 2009  
Chapter 15: The Long Flight Home - December 20th, 2009  
Epilogue - December 22nd, 2009

As you can see, I had a lot of enthusiasm right at the start, but it waned after I got to the big scene in Chapter 6 where Kazuma finally tells Kanami that he loves her. Then it waned again after the big love scene in Chapter 10. Even though I've got the main plot points for BOTH sequels pretty much planned out already, I wasn't sure I was going to finish the first installment. Hell, I've got a TON of ideas for fanfics that I'll probably never write, (Middle Earth: The Fifth Age is at the top of that category.) so that wasn't such a big deal. But then, I actually got the story posted up on FFN, and people clearly liked it. So, here you go. There are a fair number of people I'd like to thank. I'll TRY not to turn this into Version 1.0 of the Tempo Trigger Credits, but I will be thanking some people who really had nothing to do with this story. Just a heads up. First though, I need to thank...

Everyone who read this story! Especially Senorita Lucha 777 and ItachiJr08, who liked it enough to review again and again. An author isn't much without an audience to read his work, and this story now has more hits than any of my others. (Though What Makes A Hero inexplicably remained the most popular until just a few months ago.) So, if you've read this far, I'm very grateful.

Sunrise, the anime studio that has made more of my favorite series than every other anime studio put together. (Though when are we going to get English versions of Gundam Double Zeta, Victory Gundam, Gundam X, and Turn A Gundam? I've been waiting to see Double Zeta for nearly five years now! Come on!) Thanks for s-CRY-ed, but why haven't we gotten the sequel series you clearly left room for?

"Icy" Brian Work, webmaster of icybrian-dot-com, and the best director outside of Los Angeles. He was the first person to post my fanfiction online, and the first person other than my parents to ever read anything I'd written. (I was 15 at the time. Cut me some slack.)

Cain, Nightsong, and especially Mox Jet, my fellow authors in the (now defunct) World of Imagination. All are talented authors, and I like all their work. In Mox's case, the fact that one of my biggest fans turned out to be an author just as talented as I am was quite possibly the best compliment I've ever gotten.

Paul Nathans, who is basically an eternally prepubescent version of Comic Book Guy from The Simpsons, but who has also been a very good friend to me. He actually challenges my assumptions and gets me to really THINK about my work more than anyone else I know.

Mike Arrington, my first roommate here at Grand Canyon. He was a religious Republican, but since we had the same taste in anime, we got along pretty well. s-CRY-ed was probably our favorite series that we watched together, though note that not all of Fullmetal Alchemist was out on DVD yet at that time...

Blake Ewan, my fifth and coolest roommate at Grand Canyon. Though he did try to talk me into going to something called "Yaoi-Con", he did so with the rationale that, "You realize the attendance is ninety percent female, right?" so all was forgiven. (And no, I didn't go.) He definitely knew more about anime than I did, and he had even discovered evidence that Anno WAS on drugs while he was making Evangelion.

Winnie - You know why. If you don't come over from Taiwan to work at the Canyon again next summer, then girl, I'm going to go insane.

All right then, Merry Christmas everybody! Enjoy your holiday, and I'll see you next year with The Right To Exist! This is Nanaki, signing off.


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